mwm 


'$&${ 


m 


wk 


llf 


IP 


<E)*73 


WI4 


in  tn*  ©ittt  0f  &*w  tyvvh 


mm 


••:c 


fa&i 


& 


£&3 


BMsa 


\     -/  f=  r/viy.'  'j 


AIi'EXAKDBfl  MFRBAY  E$Q. 


<**-»- ^--wd-fc---. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES 

OF  DISTINGUISHED 

AMERICAN  NAVAL  HEROES 

IN  THE 

WAR  OF  THE  REVOLUTION, 

BETWEEN  THE 

AMERICAN   REPUBLIC 

AND   THE 

KINGDOM  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN ; 

COMPRISING  SKETCHES 


COM.    NICHOLAS    BIDDLE,  |  COM.  EDWARD    PREBLE,    AND 

COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JOMES,  ||   COM.   ALEXANDER  MURRAY. 

With  Incidental  Allusions  to  other  Distinguished  Characters. 


"  Patriots  have  toil'd.  and  in  their  country's  cause 
Bled  nobly  ;  and  their  deeds,  as  they  deserve, 
Receive  proud  recompense." 
*        *        *        *        "  Th'  historic  muse, 
Proud  of  the  treasure,  marches  with  it  down 
To  latest  times." 


BY  S.  PUTNAM  WALDO,  ESQ. 

Author  of  the  '  Journal  of  Robbins,' — '  Tour  of  Monroe,' — c  Me 
moirs  of  Jackson,1 — '  Life  of  Decatur,'  &c. 


HARTFORD, 

PUBLISHED    BY    SILAS    ANDRUS 
1823 


DISTRICT  OF  CONNECTICUT,  ss. 
L    g    BE  IT  REMEMBERED,  That  on  the  fifth  day  of  Septem- 
'  ber,  in  the  forty-eighth  year  of  the  independence  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  Silas  Andrus,  of  the  said  district,  hath  deposited  in 
this  office  the  title  of  a  Book,  the  right  whereof  he  claims  as  proprie- 
tor, in  the  words  following,  to  wit : "  Biographical  Sketches 

of  distinguished  American  Naval  Heroes,  in  the  War  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, between  the  American  Republic  and  the  Kingdom  of  Great 
Britain;  comprising  the  lives  and  characters  of  Com.  Nicholas  Bid- 
die,  Com.  John  Paul  Jones,  Com.  Edward  Preble,  and  C  om.  Alex- 
ander Murray  :  with  incidental  allusions  toother  distinguished  char- 
acters. 

"  Patriots  have  toil'd,  and  in  their  country's  cause 
Bled  nobly  ;  and  their  deeds,  as  they  deserve 
Receive  proud  recompense," 
*       *       *       *       "  Th1  historic  muse, 
Proud  of  the  treasure,  marches  with  it  down 
To  latest  times." 
By  S.  Putnam   Waldo,   Esq.  author  of  the  "  Journal  of  Robbins," 
"  Tour  of  Monroe" — "  Memoirs  of  Jackson" — "  Life  of  Decatur,"  &c. 
in  conformity  to  the  act  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  entitled, 
"  An  act  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of 
Maps,  Charts,  and  Books,  to  the  authors  and  proprietors  of  such  cop- 
ies, during  the  times  therein  mentioned." 

CHAS.  A.  INGERSOLL, 

Clerk  of  the  District  of  Connecticut. 
A  true  copy  of  Record,  examined  and  sealed  by  me, 

CHAS.  A.  INGERSOLL, 

Clerk  of  the  District  of  Connecticut 


P.  CANFIELD, PRINTER 


PREFATORY  NOTICE 

FROM  THE  WRITER  TO  THE  READER. 


THE  following  volume  was  commenced  in  consequence 
of  perusing  the  well  known  Letter  of  the  venerable  States- 
man, John  Adams,  to  the  well  known  Editor  of  the  Balti- 
more Weekly  Register,  in  which  this  unrivalled  American 
Patriot  says  to  that  indefatigable  American  Journalist,  "It  is 
greatly  to  be  desired  thatyoung  gentlemen  of  letters  in  all  the 
pccially  in  the  thirteen  original  States,  would  tin- 
deii&Re  the  laborious,  but  certainly  interesting  and  amusing 
task,  of  searching  and  collecting  all  the  records,  pamphlets, 
newspapers,  and  even  hand-bills,  which  in  any  way  con- 
tributed to  change  the  temper  and  views  of  the  people  and 
compose  them  into  an  independent  nation." 

Without  aspiring  to  the  proud  eminence  of  a  "  young 
gentleman  of  letters,"  I  undertook  the  "  laborious,  but  cer- 
tainly interesting  and  amusing  task  of  searching  and  col- 
lecting all  the  records,  pamphlets,  newspapers,  and  even 
hand-bills"  that  came  within  the  scope  of  my  researches. 

By  the  goodness  of  my  parents,  a  very  considerable  num- 
ber of  Revolutionary  pamphlets,  from  the  scattered  library 
of  Maj.  Gen.  Israel  Putnam  came  into  my  hands.  By  re- 
searches, which  would  remind  a  lover  of  Shakspeare  of 
one  of  his  characters,  who  sought  "for  two  kernels  of  wheat, 
in  two  bushels  of  chaff,"  I  gathered  a  file  of  newspapers, 
embracing  the  whole  period  of  the  War  of  the  American 
Revolution  ;  and  containing  a  vast  variety  of  facts  relating 
to  Naval  Heroes,  not  to  be  found  in  voluminous  histories 
of  that  wonderful  war.     I  also  obtained  the  "  Journals  of 


18*188? 


the  Old  Congress,"  the  Acts  of  which  were  authenticated 
by  the  signature  of  a  man  whose  name  and  truth  are  sy- 
nonymous— Charles  Thomson. 

Before  commencing  the  volume,  I  made  this  "  Renewed 
Request." 

Mr.  Babcock— 

In  consequence  of  a  "  request,"  which  you  obliging- 
ly inserted  in  your  useful  and  interesting  paper  some  weeks 
since,  and  which,  no  less  obligingly,  was  extracted  into 
many  of  the  leading  Gazettes  of  the  Republic,  a  very  con- 
siderable mass  of  materials  has  been  gathered  for  an  in- 
tended publication,  to  be  entitled  "  Biographical  Sketches 
of  American  Naval  Heroes  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution." 
This  subject,  for  some  time  past,  has  occupied  much  of  the 
attention  of  the  subscriber.  He  was  induced  to  commence 
the  work,  not  more  by  his  own  inclination,  than  by  the  so- 
licitation of  his  friends,  whose  opinions  confirmed  him  in 
the  propriety  of  his  own.  "  Our  Fathers  !  where  are  they  7^ 
was  an  ejaculation  of  an  ancient  patriarch.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  "  Old  Congress" — The  signers  of  the  declara- 
tion of  American  Independence — the  officers  of  the  Army 
and  Navy  of  the  Thirteen  Colonies,  in  the  gloomy  period  of 
the  Revolutionary  struggle — "  where  are  they  ?"  They  are, 
most  of  them,  reposing  in  the  tombs  of  a  country,  the  In- 
dependence of  which  they  secured  by  their  toil,  their  blood 
or  their  deaths.  Through  the  medium  of  the  Press,  which 
is  the  palladium  of  our  liberties,  and  the  source  of  our 
knowledge,  we  have  learned  something  of  the  gigantic 
Statesmen  and  Soldiers  of  that  most  important  epoch  of 
American  history — but  the  rising  generation,  like  the  wri- 
ter, must  search  through  the  scattered  and  brief  details  of 
that  period,  and  catch  the  narrations  of  the  few  hoary  head- 
ed Seamen  who  survive  to  learn  the  unsurpassed  achieve- 


ments  of  the  matchless  "  Naval  Heroes,"  who  then  dared, 
with  means  apparently  wholly  inefficient,  to  assail  the 
vaunting  "  Queen  of  the  ocean,"  as  Britain  then  called  and 
still  calls  herself,  upon  her  favourite  element. 

Although  the  writer  is  aware  that  "  the  half  is  not  told" 
him,  yet  sufficient  has  been  discovered  by  research,  and 
received  from  obliging  correspondents,  to  have  enabled 
him  to  make  considerable  progress  in  the  work  mentioned. 
The  cotemporaries,  sons  and  grand-sons  of  the  following 
catalogue  of  heroes  are  most  earnestly  requested  to  for- 
ward, as  soon  as  possible,  brief  notices  of  the  birth — early 
life — the  time  they  entered  the  Naval  service  in  the  revo- 
lution— the  ships  they  commanded — the  British  ships  they 
fought  and  conquered,  or  to  which  they  were  compelled  to 
strike — incidents  of  their  lives  from  the  conclusion  of  the 
revolutionary  war  to  the  times  of  their  death — to  wit : 

Commodores  Whipple — Hopkins — Biddle,  the  elder — ■ 
Jones — Murray — Decatur,  the  elder — Truxton. 

Captains  Preble — Manly — Little — Nicholson — Harden 
— Tryon,  and  any  others  who  in  a  high  or  minor  station 
signalized  themselves  in  the  revolution. 

The  task  which  the  writer  has  undertaken  is  arduous, 
delicate,  and  interesting — he  again  solicits  aid— he  asks 
for  nothing  but  the  "  raw  materials" — He  will  manufacture 
them  according  to  the  best  of  his  experience;  and  if,  from  the 
coarseness  of  the  texture,  the  fabric  should  be  condemned, 
he  will  at  least  enjoy  the  satisfaction  of  having  made  a  lau- 
dable attempt  to  rescue  from  oblivion  the  memories  of  de- 
parted patriots  which  ought  to  be  cherished. 

S.  PUTNAM  WALDO. 
In  compliance  with  this  "  request,"  I  was  honoured  with 
several  deeply  interesting  communications  from  gentlemen 


PREFACE. 


whose  names  I  should  feel  proud  in  mentioning  here,  were 
I  not  inhibited  by  injunctions  of  concealment. 

I  have  listened  with  rapture  and  attention  to  the  oral 
narrations  of  a  few  surviving  Ocean  Warriors  of  the  Revo- 
lution, whose  frosted  locks  hung  upon  bended  shoulders, 
like  shivered  sails  upon  tottering  masts — whose  furrowed 
faces  exhibited  the  stern  visage  of  veterans  who  had  borne 
the  "  peltings  of  the  pitiless  storm,"  but  whose  trembling 
hands  would  fruitlessly  attempt  to  record  their  own  achieve- 
ments, or  those  of  their  compatriots  in  ocean  warfare.  The 
subject  with  them,  seemed 

"  To  raise  a  Soul  beneath  the  ribs  of  Death." 
and  evinced,  that  the  snow  upon   their   heads,  had   not 
quenched  the  revolutionary  flame  in  their  hearts.     These 
narrations  were  noted  down  with  care,  when  fresh  in  re- 
membrance. 

A  recent  re-perusal  of  the  productions  of  Marshall, 
Ramsay,  Gordon,  Humphreys,  Botta,  Wilkinson,  Lee, 
Wirt,  &c.  shews  that  although  they  have  immortalized  the 
memories  of  Washington,  Putnam,  Warren,  Montgome- 
ry, Gates,  Greene,  Lincoln,  Henry,  Clinton,  Wayne, 
and  "  a  long  list  beside"  of  Army  Heroes  of  the  Revo- 
lution, the  names  of  Biddle  the  elder,  Jones  the  elder, 
Preble,  Murray,  Hopkins,  Whipple,  Gillon,  Nichol- 
son, Truxton,  Manly,  Harden,  Little,  Barry,  Dale, 
and  the  whole  of  the  little  peerless  band  of  "  Naval  He- 
roes of  the  Revolution,"  are  either  passed  by  in  silence, 
or  thrown  into  the  back  ground  of  the  sanguinary  arena  of 
the  Revolutionary  war. 

While,  in  imagination,  we  can  yet  hear  the  reverberation 
of  the  clangor  of  Bunker  Hill,  Trenton,  Harlem,  Monmouth, 
Saratoga,  Camden,  and  York-  Town,  the  distant  roaring  of 
our  little  floating  bulwarks,  "  far  away  o'er  the  billow," 


and  in  the  very  throat  of  death  upon  the  coast  of  Britain 
and  her  colonies  which  dared  not  resist  her,  dies  away  in 
the  roaring  of  the  surges  that  once  echoed  them  amongsi 
the  dismayed  subjects  of  George  III. 

I  had  intended  to  have  gathered  something  like  a  Regis 
ter  of  Naval  Heroes  of  the  Revolution.  The  following  ex- 
tract of  a  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  shows  the 
impossibility  of  doing  it. 

"  The  Records  of  the  Department  do  not  enable  me  to 
furnish  the  information  you  request,  respecting  the  "  Naval 
Officers  who  signalized  themselves  during  the  War  for  In- 
dependence ;"  the  correspondence  of  the  Congressional 
Committee  on  Marine  affairs  during  the  Revolutionary 
War,  does  not  contain  complete  lists,  even  of  the  Com- 
manders, much  less  of  the  several  officers  attached  to  the 
public  vessels  during  that  important  and  interesting  period 
of  our  history. 

"  As  the  work  which  you  contemplate  publishing  will,  it 
is  believed,  be  one  of  public  utility,  it  will  afford  me  pleas- 
ure to  furnish  any  information  connected  with  the  subject 
that  may  be  found  in  the  archives  of  the  Department." 

From  such  promiscuously  scattered  materials  was  the 
following  volume  composed.  At  this  remove  of  time — from 
the  ravages  of  death,  amongst  those  who  survived  the  revo- 
lution, and  the  diminution  and  almost  destruction  of  neces- 
sary materials  for  the  Biography  of  Dead  Worthies,  the 
difficulty  of  doing  any  thing  like  justice  to  the  memories  of 
the  Naval  Heroes  of  the  American  Revolution,  is  greatly 
augmented. 

T  ;e  stain  of  ingratitude  toward  our  surviving  revolution- 
ary fathers  is,  in  some  degree,  wiped  off  by  the  auspicious 
administration  of  the  Fifth  President  of  the  Republic. 
It  remains  for  the  Press  to  rescue  the  memories  of  the 


"'-  Illustrious  Dead"  from  oblivion,  and  to  incorporate  their 
Fame  with  the  archives  of  the  Republic. 

The  Introduction  to  these  Sketches  will  be  useless  to 
the  well  versed  historian  ;  but  was  designed  as  a  mere 
"  birds-eye  view"  for  the  young  American  reader,  who  has 
not  yet  made,  as  he  certainly  will  endeavour  to  make  him- 
self acquainted  with  the  causes  that  induced — the  aston- 
ishing events  that  accompanied,  and  the  unrivalled  charac- 
ters developed  in  the  Senate,  upon  the  Field,  and  on  the 
Ocean,  in  the  American  Revolution. 

As  to  these  "  Biographical  Sketches,"  the  writer  can 
frankly  say  that  with  the  materials  he  had,  and  the  circum- 
stances under  which  he  wrote,  he  has  done  the  best  he 
could  ;  and  should  the  first  continue  to  accumulate,  and  the 
last  be  bettered,  he  hopes  his  future  efforts  will  be  more 
deserving  of  the  flattering  patronage  the  public  has  bes- 
towed, not  upon-the  writer,  but  upon  the  publishers  of  his 
previous  productions. 

Eighty  Thousand  large  duodecimo  volumes  of  them 
published  within  the  four  past  years,  may  have  increas- 
ed the  presumption  of  the  writer,  although  the  sales  of  them 
have  added  nothing  to  his  pecuniary  means. 

This  imperfect  and  unpolished  volume  is  literally 
"  thrust  into  the  world,  scarce  half  made  up" — "  in  for- 
ma pauperis,''''  without  claiming  one  smile  of  patronage — 
one  mite  of  literary  aid,  one  cheering  favour  from  the  for- 
tunate sons  of  academic  acquirements.  It  is  all  the  writer 
has  now  to  offer — and  if  this  little  all  will  have  been  re- 
pulsed, the  one  who  offers  it,  will  feel  undisturbed  at  the 
sneers  of  a  censorious  world,  to  which  he  acknowledges 
but  little  obligation,  as  from  it,  he  has  hitherto  received  but 

a  scanty  portion  of  favour. 

THE  AUTHOR. 

Hartford,  Conn.  September  5fh,  1823« 


TO 

HON.  SMITH  THOMPSON, 

SECRETARY  OF  THE  NAVY.* 

Sir- 
Avoiding  the  fulsome  eulogy  which  character- 
ises the  dedications  of  mercenary  writers,  who  bask  in  the 
rays  of  Royal  Favour — catch  the  unmeaning  smiles  of  Lords 
Temporal — the  relaxed  frowns  of  Lords  Spiritual,  and  whose 
language  is  animated  or  languid,  as  their  Pensions  are  great- 
er or  lesser,  I  offer  this  volume  to  you,  Sir,  with  the  frank- 
ness of  an  American,  whose  ancestors  wielded  the  sword  of 
Freedom,  but  never  the  pen  of  flattery. 

Those  acquirements  as  a  Scholar,  Statesman,  and  Jurist, 
which  once  placed  you  at  the  head  of  a  great  State  Court 
in  the  Union,  and  now  sustains  you  at  the  head  of  the  Navy 
Department  of  the  Confederated  Republic,  were  the  well 
founded  causes  of  your  unsolicited  promotion — first,  by  the 
constituted  authorities  of  a  leading  member  of  the  Union,  which 

*  Since  this  was  written,  the  Secretary  has  been  appointed  a  Judge 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 


X  DEDICATION. 

knew  you  best — next,  by  the  government  of  the  whole  Republic 
which  knew  and  appreciated  your  merits. 

The  voice  of  your  countrymen  declares,  that  while  you  de- 
rive honour  from  the  exalted  station  you  fill,  you  impart  hon- 
our to  the  station  itself. 

However  much  your  name  may  add  to  the  little  intrinsic 
value  of  these  Sketches  of"  Naval  Heroes  of  the  Revolu- 
tion," it  cannot  remove  their  imperfections.  With  all  these, 
however,  it  is  offered  to  you  as  a  small  token  of  the  Respect  of, 
Sir,  Your  Obd't.  Serv't.  with  high  consideration. 

S.  Putnam  Waldo. 
Hartford,  (Conn.)  Sept.  10,  1823. 


CONTENTS, 


PAGE. 

Introduction,         .         .         .         .         •         •  .13 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Com.  Nicholas  Biddle,     .  37 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Com.  John  Paul  Jones,      .  75 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Com.  Edward  Preble,       .  144 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Com.  Alexander  Murray,  244 

APPENDIX. 

Character,  and  Official  Services  of  James  Monroe,  357 
Familiar  Letters,  of  John  Adams  and  Thomas  Jef- 


ERRATA. 

From  the  rapidity  with  which  this  volume  was  forced  through  the 
press,  the  following  errors,  amongst  others  probably  undiscovered, 
have  occurred — more  justly  imputable  to  the  Author  than  to  the 
Printer. — 

Page  16,  For  were  read  was. 
76,  For  is  read  was. 
100,  For  gives  read  give. 
152,  For  Eiddle,  rend  Prbble. 
162,  For  Capt.  Stewart,  read  Lieut.  Stewart 
273,  For  Charleston  read  Charlestown. 
276,  For  solicited  read  appointed. 
291,  For  controlled  read  constrained. 


2MTO®BWOTlto 


ADDRESSED  TO  THE  ATTENTION  OF  THE  YOUNGER 
CLASS  OF  READERS. 

Memories  of  the  ancient  colonists  of  America,  and  heroes  of  the  Ar- 
my and  Navy  of  the  Revolution.— They  were  always  freemen — were 
always  their  own  defenders. — Presumption  and  ignorance  of  Bri- 
tish officers  in  the  "  French  War."— William  Pitt.— The  result 
of  the  French  war  in  America. — British  ambition  and  cupidity — 
Her  attempts  to  coerce  Americans — their  resistance  by  argument— 
the  eloquence  of  their  statesmen  in  the  senate,  and  firmness  of  their 
soldiers  in  the  Army.— NAVAL  HEROES  of  the  REVOLUTION. 
— Congress,  the  States,  and  individuals  aid  them. — Vandalism  of 
British  officers  and  soldiers. — Firmness  of  Americans  in  resistance, 

IN  the  long  catalogue  of  the  worthies  and  benefactors  of 
the  human  race — amongst  the  exalted  spirits  who  have  res- 
cued men  from  the  degradation  of  ignorance,  and  stimula- 
ted them  to  manifest  their  moral  and  intellectual  powers — 
who  have  roused  them  from  the  humiliated  state  of  bond- 
age to  the  dignified  attitude  of  Freemen,  the  Statesmen  of 
the  "  Old  Congress" — the  officers  of  the  American  Ar- 
my and  Navy  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  are  enti- 
tled to  pre-eminent  rank.  We  might,  in  retrospect,  by  the 
rapid  glance  of  historical  recollection,  transport  the  mind 
to  a  period  still  more  remote,  and  contemplate,  with  so- 
lemn admiration,  the  great  champions  who  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  the  two  grand  pillars  upon  which  our  Republic  be- 
gan to  rise,  and  is  still  rapidly  rising — Civil  Liberty  and 
Religious  Freedom.  From  their  toils  and  unceasing  per- 
severance, our  noble  cities,  charming  towns  and  delightful 
villages  have  been  rescued  from  a  wilderness.  From  their 
3 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

science  and  literature,  the  language  and  the  arts  of  civili- 
zation are  heard  and  enjoyed,  where  yelling  savages  and 
howling  beasts  poured  forth  "  horrid  harmony,"  and  the 
arrow  and  the  hook  furnished  ferocious  barbarians  with  ' 
precarious  subsistence.  When  the  present  race  of  Ameri- 
cans reflect  that  these  blessings  were  commenced  in  the 
seventeenth — were  advanced  and  secured  in  the  eighteenth 
— and  that  in  the  nineteenth  century  we  are  in  the  full  frui- 
tion of  all  the  enjoyments  which  the  best  and  freest  gov- 
ernment on  earth  can  impart,  it  surely  becomes  our  duty, 
and  ought  to  be  our  pleasure,  to  render  all  the  grateful 
homage  to  the  memories  of  our  unrivalled  ancestors  which 
man  may  render  to  man,  and  all  the  adoration  which  man 
can  render  to  his  Creator. 

It  is  the  pastime  of  the  untutored  Laplanders  to  detaif 
and  to  chaunt  the  achievements  of  their  sleeping  ancestors; 
and  the  savages  of  America,  still  exult  in  the  fame  of  Alk- 
nomok  and  Ouconnostota — of  Logan  and  Philip.  If  bar- 
barians thus  commemorate  the  achievements  of  their  pro- 
genitors, which,  perhaps,  were  nothing  more  than  encoun- 
tering and  conquering  wild  beasts,  or  capturing  and  tortur- 
ing a  christian  or  savage  enemy,  how  much  more  imperious 
and  obligatory  upon  us  is  the  injunction — "  Honour  th* 
Fathers." 

Our  expanded  and  rapidly  expanding  Republic,  in  the 
full  enjoyment  of  every  blessing  which  political  wisdom 
and  science — moral  and  religious  principles,  and  the  diffu- 
sion of  useful  knowledge  can  impart,  might  now  (1823)  be 
in  an  humiliated  colonial  state  under  George  IV. — his  vo- 
luptuous lords  temporal,  and  his  corrupted  lords  spiritual, 
had  it  not  been  for  the  exalted  and  majestic  spirit  of  free- 
dom and  independence  which  inspired  the  noble  bosoms  of 


INTRODUCTION.  10 

our  unrivalled  ancestors.  Let  the  free  and  high-minded 
people  who  inhabit  that  portion  of  the  "  Western  World" 
which  lies  north  of  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  contrast  their 
situation  with  that  of  their  fellow  creatures  south  of  that 
natural  division  of  the  American  Continent.  Although 
South  America  is  centuries  older  in  what  is  called  civili- 
zation than  North  America,  yet  the  north  is  two  cen- 
turies older  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  Rights  of  Man  than  the 
south.  From  the  days  of  the  blood-glutted  Pizarro,  to 
this  time,  South  Americans  have  been  the  most  degraded 
vassals,  to  the  most  tyrannical  monarchy,  that  ever  wielded 
the  sceptre  of  despotic  power,  and  the  most  subjugated 
slaves  to  the  most  detestable  and  satanic  priesthood,  that 
ever  imposed  a  chain  upon  the  human  mind.  But  from 
the  time  that  true  Englishmen,  the  descendants  of  true  Sax- 
ons, landed  in  the  North,  they  have  ever  been  free ;  and  their 
progeny  may  exclaim  with  the  first  of  apostles,  and  one  of 
the  first  of  men  a  We  were  born  free."  While  the 
Christian  world  may  well  exclaim — "  The  Sun  of  Right- 
eousness arose  in  the  East,"  and  is  diffusing  his  redeeming 
rays  over  the  earth,  an  emancipated  world  will  hereafter 
admit  that — The  Sun  of  Freedom  arose  in  the  West :  and 
that  in  freedom,  there  is  also  a  redeeming  spirit  which  will 
ere  long  wrest  from  the  hands  of  tyrants  the  rod  of  abused 
power — convert  the  chains  they  have  forged  for  their  sub- 
jects into  ropes  of  sand,  and  make  their  thrones  vanish  be- 
neath  them  like  the  "  baseless  fabrick  of  a  vision." 

The  "  Thirteen  Colonies  of  North  America"  may  at  this 
time  be  called  the  germe  of  twenty-four  Independent  States, 
confederated  together  by  a  voluntary  ligament  that  unites 
them  to  the  American  Republic.  These  ancient  colonies, 
if  the  expression  is  admissible,  may  be  said  to  be  "  self- 


16  INTRODUCTION, 

created." — They  neither  originated  from  royal  favour,  nor 
were  fostered  by  princely  munificence.  They  were  not 
acquired  by  the  resistless  arm  of  a  potent  monarch,  but 
by  the  purchases  of  emigrant  pilgrims  from  the  oppressed 
countries  of  the  old  world,  or  by  the  voluntary  conveyances 
of  the  native,  and  sole  proprietors  of  the  soil.  It  is  incon- 
sistent with  the  limits  of  these  introductory  remarks  to  the 
following  "Sketches"  to  discuss  the  question  whether  the 
benefits  which  Europeans  have  gained,  and  the  original 
rights  which  the  aborigines  have  irretrievably  lost,  by  the 
discovery  of  America,  can  be  justified  by  the  code  usually 
called  "  The  Lazo  of  Nations."  Having  had  occasion  to 
allude  very  briefly  to  this  subject  in  two  previous  publica- 
tions,* I  hope  to  be  excused  for  referring  the  reader  to  the 
hasty  remarks  made  in  these  volumes. 

The  British  monarch  and  the  British  nation,  as  well  by 
intuitive,  as  by  logical  deductions,  knew  well  that  national 
wealth  was  national  power,  and  that  both  essentially  con- 
duced to  national  glory.  They  therefore  were  assiduously 
engaged  in  draining  from  the  East  and  the  West  Indies, 
their  immense  wealth  into  their  ozim  coffers.  They  thought 
little  of  infant  colonies,  in  an  hitherto  unexplored  region, 
over  a  vast  expanse  of  ocean.  But  France,  their  natural 
enemy,  were  either  in  actual  possession,  or  had  uncontroll- 
ed sway,  over  the  whole  western  and  northern  boundaries 
of  "  His  Britannic  Majesty^s  Colonies  in  North  America''' 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  to  the  mouth  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  two  of  the  most  important  streams  on  earth. 
That  aspiring  monarchy  cast  an  eye  of  cupidity  upon  these 
growing  colonies  which  had,   almost  unobserved  by  East- 

*  "  President's  Tour,"  3d  ed.  p.  268,  269.  "  Memoirs  of  Jackson.' 
5th  ed.  p.  48,49. 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

em  potentates,  grown  up  to  considerable  importance.  The 
British  monarchy  then  began  to  think  that  their  trans- atlan- 
tic  possessions  were  worth  defending.  The  king  began  to 
profess  the  most  fatherly  solicitude  for  his  American  sub- 
jects ;  and  his  ministry  most  earnestly  called  upon  them  to 
defend  themselves,  and  most  graciously  condescended  to 
furnish  a  few  British  regulars,  and  a  full  quota  of  British 
officers  to  command  all  the  American  troops. 

A  sort  of  predatory  warfare  was  carried  on  between  the 
christian  English  and  French,  and  the  heathen  Indians,  who 
espoused  the  cause  of  that  great  father,  over  the  great  wa- 
ter, who  offered  the  strongest  allurements,  and  gave  them 
the  most  encouragement  for  gratifying  their  insatiable  thirst 
for  blood,  carnage  and  plunder. 

General  Braddock  was  despatched  to  America,  with  a 
small  body  of  troops,  and  was  joined  by  that  prodigy  of  a 
man,  designed  to  begin  his  splendid  military  career  in  aid- 
ing the  British  monarch  to  secure  the  colonies  from  French 
rapacity,  and  afterwards  to  lead  his  countrymen  in  wrest- 
ing them  from  British  tyranny— GEORGE  WASHING- 
TON. Gen.  Braddock,  as  commander  in  chief,  and  Col. 
Washington,  the  next  in  command,  advanced  upon  the 
savage  foe.  The  commander,  claiming  that  importance 
which  a  man  versed  in  the  science  of  war — familiar  with 
military  tactics,  and  determined  to  slay  savages  secundem 
artem,  lost  his  own  life,  and  much  of  his  force,  by  rashness 
and  ignorance  of  savage  warfare.  The  cool  courage  and 
consummate  judgment  of  Washington  saved  the  remnant 
of  an  army,  the  whole  of  which  had  been  exposed  to  de- 
struction by  his  superior  in  command.  The  American,  or 
►what  was  then  called  the  provincial  troops,  were  almost 
invariably  successful  when  led  by  their  own  commanders.* 

*  Vide  English  and  American  histories  of  the  "  French  War." 


18  INTRODUCTION. 

In  May  1756,  war  was  formally  declared  by  Britain 
against  France  ;  and  in  June  following,  by  France  against 
Britain.  Another  host  of  British  officers  arrived  from  Eu- 
rope, amongst  whom  were  Lord  Loudon,  Gen.  Abercrombie, 
Gen.  Webb,  Gen.  Hopson,  &c.  &c.  One  after  the  other 
made  his  entry  and  his  exit,  like  actors  at  a  theatre,  per- 
forming sometimes  a  comic,  sometimes  a  tragic,  and  more 
frequently  a  tragi-comic  part ;  and  then  retiring  behind  the 
scenes,  followed  by  the  hisses  of  some,  the  pity  of  others, 
and  the  contempt  of  all.  At  the  close  of  the  year  1758, 
by  the  tardiness,  cowardice  or  ignorance  of  British  gene- 
rals, the  British  colonies  in  America  were  all  but  an  appen- 
dage to  the  French  monarchy.  Americans,  although  loyal 
in  the  first  degree  to  his  Britannic  Majesty,  formed  the 
most  contemptible  opinion  of  his  ministry  and  his  generals. 
Even  a  loyal  British  historian  and  biographer,  speaking  of 
the  campain  of  1758,  says,  "  That  it  ended  to  the  eternal 
disgrace  of  those  who  then  commanded  the  armies,  and  di- 
rected the  councils  of  Great-Britain." 

In  1759  the  Genius  of  war  and  carnage  seemed  to  have 
crossed  the  Atlantic,  and  to  have  commenced  his  terrific 
reign  in  North  America.  But  that  merciful  Being,  under 
whose  protecting  arm  the  infant  colonies  were  planted,  still 
sustained  them — "  Qui  transtulit  sustinet."!  A  great 
and  powerful  friend  of  America,  as  yet  but  little  known, 
advanced  forward  in  all  the  majesty  of  innate  greatness. 
A  lowering  and  portentous  cloud  hung  over  his  king,  his 
country,  and  her  colonies.  "  He  stood  alone — modern  de- 
generacy had  not  reached  him — With  one  hand  he  smote  the 
house  of  Bourbon,  and  wielded  in  the  other  the  democracy  of 
England."     The  classical  reader  will  immediately  call  to 

f  This  is  the  motto  of  the  Arms  of  Connecticut. 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

mind  the  first  of  orators,  the  greatest  of  statesmen,  and  the 
noblest  of  men,  William  Pitt,  a  "  name  which  strikes  all 
human  titles  dead  ;"  and  which  needed  not  the  ennobling 
title  of  "  Earl  of  Chatham"  to  add  to  his  native  greatness. 
He  was  the  master  spirit,  under  Providence,  who  direct- 
ed-the  storm  that  was  raging  in  two  hemispheres.  Pro- 
dly  Versed  in  the  science  of  human  nature,  he  selected 
his  officers  for  the  reason,  that  they  would  confer  more  hon- 
our upon  the  station  they  filled,  than  they  could  derive 
from  it.  Gen.  Amherst  and  Gen.  Wolfe,  were  made 
commanders  in  America.  The  cool  and  judicious  course 
pursued  by  the  first,  reminds  the  historian  of  the  Roman 
Fabius,  and  the  fire  and  energy  of  the  last,  ofScipio.  This 
wonderful  man,  William  Pitt,  who  dared,  in  youth,  to 
repel  manfully  an  attack  from  the  imperious  Walpole,  dar- 
ed also,  although  but  a  commoner,  to  expose  the  effemin- 
acy of  a  degenerated  English  nobility.  He  cared  little  for 
the  gaudy  and  evanescent  splendour  of  royalty,  but  placed 
his  reliance  upon  the  bone  and  muscle  of  his  country — the 
yeomanry.  His  views,  like  the  rapidity  of  the  passage  of 
light,  were  directed  to  America.  His  prescience  assured 
him  that  Anglo-Americans,  who  had  encountered  the  dan- 
gers of  the  ocean — the  appalling  horrors  of  savage  war- 
fare— the  dismaying  prospects  of  famine,  and  all  the  ca 
lamities  which  "  flesh  is  heir  /o,"  were  the  men  upon  whom 
his  king  must  place  his  reliance,  to  defend  his  American 
possessions.  He  addressed  the  governours  of  the  several 
colonies.  Although  distinct  in  regard  to  interest,  and  dif- 
ferent in  forfin  of  government,  he  pathetically  and  energet- 
ically appealed  to  the  interest,  the  pride,  the  patriotism, 
the  loyalty,  and,  what  was  paramount,  the  religion  of  all. 
His  spirit  operated  upon  the  despairing  Americans,  like  a 


2,0  INTRODUCTION. 

shock  of  electricity  upon  a  morbid  system, — it  infused  life 
and  vigour. 

A  single  paragraph  will  suffice  for  the  remaining  part  of 
this  introduction,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  war  of  1755. 
The  Americans,  aided  by  a  i'ew  of  their  English  brethren, 
went  on  conquering  and  to  conquer,  until  the  two  Canada? 
— the  two  Floridas,  and  half  of  the  Mississippi,  were  added 
de  facto  to  the  British  crown,  but  dejure  to  the  Americans, 
by  the  Peace  of  Paris  in  1763. 

The  nation  now  looked  upon  their  immense  territory  in 
North  America  as  indefeasibly  its  own,  and  rested  content- 
ed in  regard  to  it.  Its  views  were  withdrawn  from  the 
West,  and  directed  to  the  East.  With  that  avarice  and 
cupidity  which  reminds  the  biblical  scholar  of  the  daugh- 
ters of  the  horse  leach,  "  crying  Give,  give,"  its  views 
were  extended  to  India.  While  they  were  conquering  re- 
gions which  before  were  conquered  by  effeminacy,  wealth, 
and  luxury,  the  Americans,  without  aspiring  to  conquest 
or  dominion,  were  unambitiously  engaged  in  the  innocent 
and  laudable  pursuit  of  drawing  wealth  from  their  own  re- 
sources, and  drawing  the  wealth  of  other  regions  into  the 
bosom  of  their  country. 

The  "  mother  country,"  as  Britain  was  then  called,  with 
a  rapacity  unparralleled  in  the  history  of  plunder,  carnage 
and  bloodshed,  was  ravishing  from  the  unoffending  natives 
of  Asia,  the  fairest  and  richest  portion  of  that  continent, 
which  may  be  called  the  parent  of  the  world.  Neither  the 
Law  that  came  by  Moses,  nor  the  Grace  promulgated  by 
the  Gospel,  restrained  Englishmen  from  inundating  the 
country  in  blood,  in  order  to  wrest  from  it  its  treasures.* 

*  The  language  of  two  British  poets, 

;:  That  thieves  at  home  must  hang ;  but  he  that  puts 


INTRODUCTION.  21 

Neither  Lite  deleterious  effects  of  the  climate,  nor  agony  in 
the  black  hole  of  Calcutta,  could  restrain  these  relentless 
marauders,  from  accomplishing  their  diabolical  work.  As 
soon  may  we  expect  that  the  grave  will  say  "it  is  enough," 
as  to  see  a  nation  of  misers  satisfied  with  gold.  But  Col. 
Clive  was  immortalized,  and  the  British  treasury  was  en- 
riched, and  that's  enough  ! ! 

But  notwithstanding  the  immense  acquisition  of  wealth 
from  the  East,  Great-Britain  was  in  the  depth  of  national 
bankruptcy,  as  she  fancied  she  was  at  the  height  of  national 
glory.  To  keep  up  her  sinking  credit,  and  to  enable  her 
to  prosecute  her  objects  of  unhallowed  ambition,  she  re- 
solved to  replenish  her  coffers  by  draining  from  her  Amer- 
ican subjects  their  hard  earned  gains. 

The  British  parliament  little  knew  what  "  stern  stuff" 
it  had  to  deal  with  upon  the  west  side  of  the  Atlantic. 
Englishmen,  however,  might  have  learned,  in  the  war  of 
1755,  that  their  American  brethren  had  bone  and  muscle 
sufficient  to  conquer  the  best  French  generals,  and  their 
best  troops  ;  Indian  sachems  and  their  best  warriors.  The 
statesmen  of  Old  England  supposed  that  Americans  would 
not  have  the  temerity  to  resist  the  mandates  of  their  Euro- 
pean mother.  They  supposed  that  they  felt  grateful  for 
the  protection  extended  to  them,  not  remembering  that 
the  colonists  had  protected  themselves  by  their  own  men 
and  their  own  money;  and  that  the  wealth  acquired  by 
Britain,  by  monopolizing  their  trade,  very  far  overbalan- 
ced the  money  expended  in  aiding  them.  But  that  impe- 
rious monarchy  was  determined  to  show  their  power  over 
the  colonies,  whether  it  acquired  wealth  by  it  or  not. 

"  Into  his  overgorg'd  and  bloated  purse 

"  The  wealth  of  Indian  provinces,  escapes  !" 

: '  One  murder  makes  a  villain— millions  a  hero !" 
4 


22  '  INTRODUCTION. 

That  wonderful  statesman,  William  Pitt,*  was  worn 
down  by  incessant  service  in  the  cause  of  his  king  and 
country.  But  although  his  majestic  frame  was  tottering  to 
its  fall,  his  mind  retained  its  native  inspiration — 

"  His  soul's  dark  cottage,  batter'd  and  decay'd, 

"  Let  in  new  light  thro1  chinks  which  time  had  made." 

His  knowledge  of  Americans  made  him  respect  them,  not 

*  The  following  extract  from  the  Speech  of  William  Pitt,  (whose 
name  was  lowered  for  that  of  "  Earl  of  Chatham")  ought  to  be  com- 
mitted to  memory  by  every  American  youth,  and  admired  by  every 
American  Scholar,  Statesman  and  Patriot.  It  was  pronounced  the 
January  before  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  in  the  British  parliament : 
"  My  Lords, 
"  1  rise  with  astonishment  to  see  these  papers  brought  to  your  ta- 
ble at  so  late  a  period  of  this  business  ;  papers,  to  tell  us  what  ?  Why, 
what  all  the  world  knew  before  ;  that  the  Americans,  irritated  by  re- 
peated injuries  and  stripped  of  their  inborn  rights  and  dearest  privi- 
leges, have  resisted,  and  entered  into  associations  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  their  common  liberties. 

Had  the  early  situation  of  the  people  of  Boston  been  attended  to* 
things  would  not  have  come  to  this.  But  the  infant  complaints  of  Bos- 
ton were  literally  treated  like  the  capricious  squalls  of  a  child,  who, 
it  was  said,  did  not  know  whether  it  was  aggrieved  or  not.  But  full 
well  1  knew,  at  that  time,  that  this  child,  if  not  redressed,  would  soon 
assume  the  courage  and  voice  of  a  wan.  Full  well  I  knew,  that  the 
sons  of  ancestors,  born  under  the  same  free  constitution,  and  once 
breathing  the  same  liberal  air  as  Englishmen,  would  resist  upon  the 
same  principles,  and  on  the  same  occasions. 

What  has  government  done  ?.  They  have  sent  an  armed  force,  con- 
sisting of  seventeen  thousand  men,  to  dragoon  the  Bostonians  into  what 
is  called  their  duty ;  and  so  far  from  once  turning  their  eyes  to  the  po- 
licy and  destructive  consequence  ©fthis  scheme,  are  constantly  send- 
ing out  more  troops.  And  we  are  told,  in  the  language  of  menace, 
that  if  seventeen  thousand  men  won't  do,  fifty  thousand  shall.  It  is 
true,  my  lords,  with  this  force  they  may  ravage  the  country ;  waste 
and  destroy  as  they  march ;  but,  in  the  progress  of  fifteen  hundred 
miles,  can  they  occupy  the  places  they  have  passed  ?  Will  not  a  coun- 


INTRODUCTION.  2.3 

4>  subjugated  vassals,  but  a?  descendants  of  English  free- 
men. He  warned  king,  lords,  and  commons  to  beware 
how  they  moved  in  regard  to  America.  His  solemn  mo- 
nitions were  like  oracles,  and  his  warning  voice  like  a  voice 

try,  which  can  produce  three  millions  of  people,  wronged  and  insulted 
as  they  are,  start  up  like  hydras  in  every  corner,  and  gather  fresh 
strength  from  every  opposition  ?  Nay,  what  dependence  can  you  have 
upon  the  soldiery,  the  unhappy  engines  of  your  wrath  ?  They  are 
Englishmen,  who  must  feel  for  the  privileges  of  Englishmen.  Do 
you  think  that  these  men  can  turn  their  arms  against  their  hrethren  ? 
Surely  no.  A  victory  must  be  to  them  a  defeat ;  and  carnage,  a  sac- 
rifice. But  it  is  not  merely  three  millions  of  people,  the  produce  of 
America,  we  have  to  contend  with  in  this  unnatural  struggle ;  many 
more  are  on  their  side,  dispersed  over  the  face  of  this  wide  empire. 
Every  whig  in  this  country  and  in  Ireland  is  with  them. 

Who,  then,  let  me  demand,  has  given,  and  continues  to  give,  this 
strange  and  unconstitutional  advice?  I  do  not  mean  to  level  atone 
man,  or  any  particular  set  of  men  ;  but  thus  much  I  will  venture  to 
declare,  that,  if  his  Majesty  continues  to  hear  such  counsellors,  he 
will  not  only  be  badly  advised,  but  undone.  He  may  continue  indeed 
to  wear  his  crown  ;  but  it  will  not  be  worth  his  wearing.  Robbed  of  so 
principal  a  jewel  as  America,  it  will  lose  its  lustre,  and  no  longer  beam 
that  effulgence  which  should  irradiate  the  brow  of  majesty. 

In  this  alarming  crisis,  I  come  with  this  paper  in  my  hand  to  offer 
you  the  best  of  my  experience  and  advice  ;  which  is,  that  a  humble 
petition  be  presented  to  his  Majesty,  beseeching  him,  that  in  order  to 
open  the  way  towards  a  happy  setttement  of  the  dangerous  troubles  in 
America,  it  may  graciously  please  him,  that  immediate  orders  be  giv- 
en to  general  Gage  for  removing  his  majesty's  forces  from  the  town  of 
Boston.  And  this,  my  lords,  upon  the  most  mature  aud  deliberate 
grounds,  is  the  best  advice  I  can  give  you,  at  this  juncture.  Such 
conduct  will  convince  America  that  you  mean  to  try  her  cause  in  the 
spirit  of  freedom  and  inquiry,  and  not  in  letters  of  blood.  There  is 
no  time  to  be  lost.  Every  hour  is  big  with  danger.  Perhaps,  while  I 
am  now  speaking,  the  decisive  blow  is  struck,  which  may  involve 
millions  in  the  consequence.  And  believe  me,  the  very  first  drop  of 
blood  which  is  shed,  will  cause  a  wound  which  may  never  be  healed  " 


24  INTRODUCTION. 

from  the  tomb.*  The  then  young  and  'manly  Charles 
James  Fox,  the  eloquent  Burke,  and  the  unyielding  Barre. 
formed  a  trio  of  greatness  in  favour  of  America.  But  that 
wrong-headed  minister,  Lord  North,  was  incorrigible.  He 
had  an  accommodating  majority  in  parliament  which  would 

*  It  was  not  far  from  this  period,  that  Doct.  Samuel  Johnson  wrote 
his  celebrated  pamphlet,  "  Taxation  no  Tyranny,"  in  which  he  sneer- 
ed at  American  Rebels ;  and,  under  the  influence  of  a  Pension,  even 
frowned  at  the  immortal  Pitt.  He  lived  just  long  enough  to  see 
George  III.  ratify  the  Peace  of  1783,  and  surrender  the  "  Amehican 
Jewel."  "Lord  Littleton  the  Younger"  not  inaptly  styled  '■'■the 
paragon  of  virtue  and  of  vice"  thus  expresses  himself  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  American  Affairs  :  How  such  a  lord  as  Littleton,  could  amal- 
gamate with  such  a  lord  as  North,  is  one  of  the  mysteries  in  "  state 
affairs" "  not  to  be  told." — 

"  In  the  great  subject  of  this  day's  politics,  which  seems  to  engulph 
every  other,  I  am  with  them.  I  shall  never  cease  to  contend  for  the 
universality  and  unity  of  the  British  empire  over  all  its  territories  and 
dependencies,  in  every  part  of  the  globe.  I  have  not  a  doubt  of  the 
legislative  supremacy  of  parliament  over  every  part  of  the  British  do- 
minions in  America,  the  East  and  West  Indies,  in  Africa,  and  over 
Ireland  itself. 

I  cannot  separate  the  ideas  of  legislation  and  taxalion  ;  they  seem 
to  be  more  than  twins  ;  they  were  not  only  born  but  must  co-exist  and 
die  together.  The  question  of  right  is  heard  of  no  more  ;  it  is  now 
become  a  question  of  power  ;  and  it  appears  to  me  that  the  sword  will 
determine  the  contest.  The  colonies  pretend  to  be  subject  to  the 
king  alone  ;  they  deny  subordination  to  the  state,  and,  upon  this  prin- 
ciple, have  not  only  declared  against  the  authority  of  parliament,  but 
erected  a  government  of  their  own,  independent  of  British  legislation.  ' 
To  support  a  disobedience  to  rights  which  they  once  acknowledged; 
they  have  already  formed  associations,  armed  and  arrayed  themselves, 
and  are  preparing  to  bring  the  question  to  the  issue  of  battle.  This 
being  the  case, it  becomes  highly  necessary  for  us  to  arm  also;  we 
must  prepare  to  quench  the  evil  in  its  infancy,  and  to  extinguish  a 
flame  which  the  natural  enemies  of  England  will  not  fail  to  feed  with 
unremitting  fuel,  in  order  to  consume  our  commerce,  and  tarnish  our 
glory.     If  wise  measures  are  taken,  this  business  will  be  soon  comple- 


INTRODUCTION.  '2j 

follow,  wherever  he  lead.  Their  measures  would  remind 
one  of  the  familiar  adage — 

"  Quem  Deus,  perdere  vult,  prius  dementat." 
The  parliament  imposed  a  tax  upon  tea,  so  that  the  very 
matrons  of  America,  while  sipping  this  cheering  beverage; 
should  remember  their  English  mother.  Then  followed 
the  stamp-act,  so  that  every  transaction,  evidenced  by  wri- 
ting, should  carry  with  it  evidence  of  British  supremacy. 
Then  followed  the  tax  upon  painters''  colours,  so  that  every 

ted,  to  the  honour  of  the  mother  country,  and  the  welfare  of  the  colo- 
Bies ;  who,  in  spite  of  all  the  assistance  given  them  by  the  House  of 
Bourbon,  must,  unless  our  government  acts  like  an  ideot,  be  forced  to 
submission. 

For  my  own  part,  I  have  not  that  high  opinion  of  their  Roman  spir- 
it, as  to  suppose  that  it  will  influence  them  contendedly  to  submit  to 
all  the  horrors  of  war,  to  resign  every  comfort  in  which  they  have 
been  bred,  to  relinguish  every  hope  with  which  they  have  been  flatter- 
ed, and  retire  to  the  howling  wilderness  for  an  habitation  :  and  all  for 
a  dream  of  liberty,  which,  were  they  to  possess  to-morrow,  would  nol 
give  them  a  privilege  superior  to  those  which  they  lately  enjoyed  ; 
and  might,  I  fear,  deprive  them  of  many  which  they  experienced  be- 
neath the  clement  legislation  of  the  British  government." 

Cowper,  a  legitimate  British  bard,  who  lived  during  the   "  French 
War"  in  America,  and  who  was  at  the  height  of  poetical  fame  at  the 
close  of  the  "  War  of  the  American  Revolution,"  thus  alludes  to  the 
death  of  the  first  Pitt,  (Earl  of  Chatham)  and  Gen.  Wolfe. — 
"  Farewell  those  honours,  and  farewell,  with  them, 
"  The  hope  of  such  hereafter  !  Thev  have  fallen, 
"  Each  in  his  field  of  glory  ;  one  in  arms, 
"  And  one  in  council. — Wolfe  upon  the  lap 
"  Of  smiling  victory,  that  moment  won, 
"  And  Chatham,  heartsick  of  his  country's  shame  ! !" 
Speaking  of  the  Independence  of  America,  he  says — 
"  True  we  have  lost  an  empire — let  it  pass — 
■:  That  pick'd  the  jewel  out  of  England's  crown." 


26  INTRODUCTION. 

ornament  upon  American  buildings  should  remind  the  pos 
sessor  of  British  power. 

If  the  Parliament  of  Britian  could  impose  taxes  upon  the 
colonies  without  their  consent,  the  King  of  Britain,  the 
head  of  the  "  Holy  Catholic  Church,"  could  send  them 
Arch-bishops,  Bishops,  Priests,  Deacons,  Curates,  &c.  &c. 
and  the  whole  systematic  ramification  of  a  "  Church  Es- 
tablishment." Tythes  might  be  imposed  to  support  the 
gorgeous  pageantry  of  mechanical  Christianity,  and  the 
Puritans  might  have  been  persecuted  as  schismatics,  and 
their  houses  of  worship  denounced  as  conventicles. 

The  stern  unyielding  men  who  composed  the  popula- 
tion of  the  "  Thirteen  Colonies"  were  not  of  that  low- 
born, stubborn  race  of  beings  who  resist  the  exercise  of  all 
necessary  as  well  as  arrogated  power,  nor  were  they  so 
destitute  of  political  science  as  to  deny  the  right  of  legiti- 
mate rulers  to  impose  salutary  restraints,  and  necessary 
contributions.  No  !  amongst  them  were  statesmen  who 
would  have  graced  the  parliament  of  Britain,  either 
amongst  its  Lords  or  Commons — statesmen  who  had  learn- 
ed the  necessity  of  obedience,  before  they  aspired  to  the 
arduous  duty  of  commanding.  The  Adamses,  John  Han- 
cock, James  Otis,  the  Livingstons,  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin, the  Clintons,  Patrick  Henrv,  the  Randolphs,  Hen- 
ry Laurens,  the  Lees,  Pincknevs,  and  an  expanded  con- 
stellation of  exalted  patriots  like  them,  knew  well  how  to 
manifest  a  cordial  allegiance  to  a  monarch,  when  in  the 
exercise  of  legitimate  and  constitutional  authority.  Thanks 
to  the  stubborn  resistance  against  arbitrary  prerogatives 
and  tyrannical  power,  these  peerless  and  unsurpassed  patri- 
ots and  statesmen  knew  equally  well  how  to  expose  the  en- 
croachments of  tyrants,  and  to  rouse  up  freemen  to  resist 


INTRODUCTION  27 

them.  It  would  require  a  "Muse  of  lire,  to  ascend  the 
highest  heaven  of  invention"  to  pen  a  suitable  eulogy  up- 
on these  Sampsons  of  the  western  world.  They  taught  the 
people  that  they  possessed  the  right  of  self-government : 
and  spurned  a  doctrine  since  taught  by  American  Aristo- 
crats "  that  the  people  are  their  own  worst  enemies." 
Whatever  were  the  nature  of  the  different  governments — 
whether  exercised  by  royal  Charters — proprietary  govern- 
ments, or  their  own  municipal  regulations,  every  govern- 
ment in  the  colonies,  emphatically  exercised  what  jurists 
call  the  Jura  summa  imperii — the  right  of  supreme  power. 
Their  legislative  assemblies  enacted  laws — their  judicial 
forums  administered  civil  and  criminal  justice.  They  im- 
posed taxes  upon  the  people,  and  adopted  the  incontrover- 
tible axiom — "  That  representation  and  Taxation  should  be 
correspondent.''''  They  viewed  the  constitution  of  Bri- 
tain, and  saw  an  hereditary  monarch — an  hereditary  sen- 
ate; and  commons,  which  represented  rotten  burroughs, 
rather  than  a  free  people. 

Notwithstanding  the  imperious  court  of  Britain  seemed 
to  have  fixed  its  course  in  regard  to  the  colonies,  yet  their 
vacillating  policy  excited  the  contempt,  as  well  as  the  in- 
dignation of  American  Statesmen.  They  imposed  taxes, 
and  seeing  them  resisted,  omitted  to  enforce  the  collection. 
They  passed  acts  and  repealed  them ;  but  finally  resolved 
"  that  the  parliament  had  power  to  make  laws  to  bind  the  col- 
onies in  all  cases  whatsoever.''''  This  was  a  new  species  of 
legislation, — it  was  a  preamble  without  an  act,  an  attempt 
to  atone  for  an  offence,  and  at  the  same  time  claiming  the 
power  to  repeat  it.  Fox,  Burke  and  Barre,  in  the  House 
of  Commons,  poured  forth  peals  of  eloquence  and  satire, 
which  the  imperious  Mansfield  and  North,  and  the  minis- 


.!l, 


INTRODUCTION. 


ter's  dupes,  could  meet  only  by  dumb  legislation,  and  the 
physical  power  of  voting.  Said  Fox  to  the  minister,  "  In 
your  infatuated  conduct,  resolutions  and  concession,  ever 
misplaced,  have  equally  operated  to  the  disgrace  and  ruin 
of  the  nation." 

But  it  was  native  eloquence,  in  the  Forum  and  from  the 
Press,*  that  kindled  the  latent  spark  of  freedom  into  a 

• 
*  In  presenting  to  the  reader  the  following'  extracts  from  "  A  Circu, 
Jar  Letter  from  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  of  America  to  their 
Constituents,'''' — "  By  the  unanimous  order  of  Congress ;"  dated  23d 
Sept.  1779,  I  give  him  a  new  opportunity  of  contemplating  the  native 
majesty  of  the  gigantic  statesmen,  of  the  members  of  the  "  Old  Con- 
gress  ;"  and  the  splendid  energy  with  which  their  exalted  sentiments 
are  conveyed. 

"  That  the  time  has  been  when  honest  men  might,  without  being 
chargeable  with  timidity,  have  doubted  the  success  of  the  present  rev- 
olution we  admit ;  but  that  period  is  passed.  The  independence  of 
America  is  now  as  fixed  as  fate,  and  the  petulant  efforts  of  Britain  to 
break  it  down,  are  as  vain  and  fruitless  as  the  raging  of  the  waves 
which  beat  against  their  cliffs.  Let  those  who  are  still  afflicted  with 
these  doubts  consider  the  character  and  condition  of  our  enemies.  Let 
them  remember  that  we  are  contending  against  a  kingdom  crumbling 
into  pieces ;  a  nation  without  public  virtue ;  and  a  people  sold  to  and 
betrayed  by  their  own  representatives  ;  against  a  prince  governed  by 
his  passions,  and  a  ministry  without  confidence  or  wisdom  ;  against  ar- 
mies half  paid,  and  generals  half  trusted  ;  against  a  government  equal 
only  to  plans  of  plunder,  conflagration  and  murder;  a  government  by 
the  rao^t  impious  violation-  of  the  rights  of  religion,  justice,  humanity 
and  mankind,  courting  the  vengeance  of  Heaven,  and  revolting  from 
the  protection  of  Providencce.  Against  the  fury  of  these  enemies 
you  made  su^ces-ftil  resistance,  when  single,  alone,  and  friendless,  in 
the  days  of  weakness  and  infancy,  before  your  hands  had  been  taught 
to  war  or  your  fingers  10  fight.  And  can  there  be  any  reason  to  appre- 
hend that  the  Divine  Dis;,o^er  of  human  events,  after  having  separated 
us  from  the  house  of  bondage,  and  led  us  safe  through  a  sea  of  blood, 
towards  the  land  of  liberty  and  promise,  will  leave  the  work  of  our  po- 
litical redemption  unfinished,  and  either  permit  us  to  perish  in  a  wil- 


INTRODUCTION.  2 

iiame.  The  impassioned  eloquence  of  the  Adamses,  Han- 
cock, Otis,  &c.  in  "  Fanueil  Hall,"   in  Massachusetts; 

derness  of  difficulties,  or  suffer  us  to  be  carried  back  in  chains  to  that 
country  of  oppression,  from  whose  tyranny  he  hath  mercifully  deliver- 
ed us  with  a  stretched  out  arm  ?" 

"  What  danger  have  we  to  fear  from  Britain  ?  Instead  of  acquiring 
accessions  of  territory  by  conquest,  the  limits  of  her  empire  daily  con- 
tract ;  her  fleets  no  longer  rule  the  ocean,  nor  are  her  armies  invinci- 
ble by  land.  How  many  of  her  standards,  wrested  from  the  hands  of 
ker  champions,  are  among  your  trophies,  and  have  graced  the  triumphs 
of  your  troops  ?  and  how  great  is  the  number  of  those,  who,  sent  to 
bind  you  in  fetters,  have  become  your  captives,  and  received  their 
lives  from  your  hands." 

"A  sense  of  common  permanent  interest,  mutual  affection  (having 
been  brethren  in  affliction,)  the  ties  of  consanguinity  daily  extending, 
constant  reciprocity  of  good  offices,  similarity  in  language,  in  govern- 
ments, and  therefore  in  manners,  the  importance,  weight  and  splendour 
of  tiie  union,  all  conspire  in  forming  a  strong  chain  of  connexion, 
which  must  for  ever  bind  us  together.  The  United  Provinces  of  the 
Netherlands,  and  the  United  Cantons  of  Switzerland  became  free  and 
independent  under  circumstances  very  like  ours  :  their  independence 
has  been  long  established,  and  yet  their  confederacies  continue  in  full 
vigour.  What  reason  can  be  assigned  why  our  union  should  be  less 
lasting  ?  or  why  should  the  people  of  these  states  be  supposed  less  wise 
than  the  inhabitants  of  those  ?" 

"  We  should  pay  an  ill  compliment  to  the  understanding  and  honour 
of  every  true  American,  were  we  to  adduce  many  arguments  to  show 
the  baseness  or  bad  policy  of  violating  our  national  faith,  or  omitting  to 
pursue  the  measures  necessary  to  preserve  it.  A  bankrupt  faithless 
repubhc  would  be  a  novelty  in  the  political  world,  and  appear  among 
reputable  nations,  like  a  common  prostitute  among  chaste  and  respec- 
table matrons." 

"  The  war,  though  drawing  fast  to  a  successful  issue,  still  rages.  Be 
mindful  that  the  brightest  prospects  may  be  clouded,  and  that  prudence 
bids  us  be  prepared  for  every  event.  Provide  therefore  for  continu- 
ing your  armies  in  the  field  till  victory  and  peace  shall  lead  them  home, 
and  avoid  the  reproach  of  permitting  the  currency  to  depreciate  in 
jour  hands,  when  by  yielding  a  part  to  taxes  and  loans,  the  whole 
5 


3G  INTRODUCTION. 

reverberated  along  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic,  until  it  reach- 
ed the  "  House  of  Burgesses"  in  Virginia,  where  the  ma- 
jestic spirits  of  Patrick  Henry,  and  Richard  Henry 
Lee,  poured  forth  the  thundering  and  sonorous  voice  oi 
indignant  freemen,  resolved  to  be  free.  Franklin,  who 
had  wrested  the  lightning  from  the  clouds  by  his  philosophy, 
led  the  van  of  those  statesmen  in  the  cabinet,  who  by  the 
Pen  and  the  Press  gave  a  systematic  direction  to  Ameri- 
can Patriotism,  which  eventuated  in  the  "  Declaration 
of  Independence,"  and  in  wresting  from  the  House  of 
Brunswick  the  sceptre  which  she  wielded  over  her  Amer- 
ican Colonies.  The  artillery  of  the  American  Press,  was 
little  less  potent  than  the  thunder  of  land  and  floating  bat- 
teries, in  converting  what  was  denounced  as  an  unnatural 
rebellion  into  the  most  "Glorious  Revolution"  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  "  Crirses,  not  only  loud,  but  deep," 
were  uttered  forth  from  the  lips  of  tottering  age  ;  and  the 
hopes  of  their  country,  the  rising  youth,  caught  the  holy 
enthusiasm  of  liberty.  The  massacre  at  Boston,  and  the 
murders  at  Lexington,  were  tocsins  of  war  which  echoed 

might  hare  been  appreciated  and  preserved.  Humanity  as  well  at 
justice  makes  this  demand  upon  you,  the  complaints  of  ruined  widows, 
and  cries  of  fatherless  children,  whose  whole  support  has  been  placed 
in  your  hands  and  melted  away,  have  doubtless  reached  you ;  take  care 
that  they  ascend  no  higher.  Rouse  therefore ;  strive  who  shall  do 
most  for  his  country ;  rekindle  that  flame  of  patriotism  which  at  the 
mention  of  disgrace  and  slavery  blazed  throughout  America,  and  ani- 
mated all  her  citizens.  Determine  to  finish  the  contest  as  you  began 
iX,  honestly  and  gloriously.  Let  it  never  be  said  that  America  had  no 
sooner  become  independent  than  she  became  insolvent,  or  that  her 
infant  glories  and  growing  fame  were  obscured  and  tarnished  by  bro- 
ken contracts  and  violated  faith,  in  the  very  hour  when  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth  were  admiring  and  almost  adoring  the  splendour  «f  her 
arising." 


INTRODUCTION.  31 

from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Mississippi — from  the  Canadas  to 
the  Floridas. 

In  the  wide  range  of  history,  no  parallel  example  of  uni- 
ty of  sentiment,  and  unity  of  action  can  be  found.  Thir- 
teen distinct  governments,  moved  in  more  perfect  unison, 
than  did  ever  thirteen  different  dials  point  to  the  minutes 
of  the  passing  hour.  From  1765  to  1775,  the  materials  of 
a  dissevering  shock,  which  was  forever  to  dissolve  the  con- 
nexion between  the  Thirteen  Colonies  of  America  and  the 
British  monarchy,  had  been  constantly  augmenting.  A 
Revolution  in  public  feeling  had  been  effected,  before  an 
appeal  to  arms — the  dernier  resort — was  made. 

The  immortal  Washington  at  the  head,  followed  by 
Putnam, Gates,  Montgomery,  WoobTER,  Green e,&c.  and 
followed  themselves  by  hosts  of  true  Americans,  laid  aside 
the  peaceful  pursuits  of  husbandry,  and  the  arts,  and  re- 
paired to  the  "  tented  field,"  resolved  to  be 

"  Fire  to  fire,— flint  to  flint,  and  t'  outface  the 
Brow  of  bragging  horror."* 

But  a  class  of  Americans  was  scattered  over  the  bosom 

*  The  following  masterly  apostrophe  to  the  memories  of  the  States- 
men and  Heroes  of  the  Revolution  is  extracted  from  an  anniversary 
Oration  on  4th  July,  1787. 

"  But  what  tribute  shall  we  hestow,  what  sacred  paean  shall  we  raise 
over  the  tombs  of  those  who  dared,  in  the  face  of  unrivalled  power,  and 
within  the  reach  of  majesty,  to  blow  the  blast  of  freedom  throughout  a 
subject  continent  ? 

Nor  did  those  brave  countrymen  of  ours  only  express  the  emotions 
of  glory  ;  the  nature  of  their  principles  inspired  them  with  the  power 
of  practice  ;  and  they  offered  their  bosoms  to  the  shafts  of  battle. 
Bunker's  awful  mount  is  the  capacious  urn  of  their  ashes ;  but  the 
flaming  bounds  of  the  universe  could  not  limit  the  flight  of  their  minds. 

They  fled  to  the  union  of  kindred  souls  ;  and  those  who  fell  at  the 
streights  of  Thermopylae,  and  those  who  bled  on  the  heights  of  Charl«£ 
town,  now  reap  congenial  joys  in  the  fields  of  the  blessed." 


•32  INTRODUCTION. 

of  the  rising  Republic,  who  are  now  to  be  introduced  t« 
the  attention,  and  it  is  hoped,  to  the  admiration  of  the  rea- 
der. They  were  the  energetic,  the  daring,  the  adventu- 
rous sons  of  the  ocean, 

"Whose  march  was  on  the  mountain  wave, 
Whose  home  was  on  the  deep." 

It  was  upon  that  element  they  wished  to  display  their 
courage,  and  their  patriotism.  It  was  in  floating  bulwarks, 
they  wished  to  breast  the  shock,  and  hurl  the  gauntlet  of 
defiance  at  the  enemies  of  their  country.  Such  a  desire, 
at  such  a  time,  with  such  apparently  insuperable  obstacles 
to  surmount,  could  have  originated  only  from  souls,  that 
were  strangers  to  fear,  or  have  been  imbibed  in  bosoms 
glowing  with  the  ardour  of  patriotism.  The  seaboard  of 
the  thirteen  colonies,  was  barricadoed  with  the  "  wooden 
walls"  of  Old  England,  her  admirals,  post-captains  and 
seamen,  had  acquired  almost  undisputed  sway  over  every 
ocean  and  sea ;  and  the  colonies  possessed  not  a  single 
armed  ship.  In  the  war  of  1755,  commonly  called  by 
Americans  the  "  French  War,"  but  very  few  of  our  ances- 
tors acquired  knowledge  of  naval  tactics  ;  and  what  they 
did  acquire,  must  have  been  in  very  humble  stations, — for 
if  the  officers  of  Britain  in  the  army  of  America,  aspired  to 
supreme  command,  a  fortiori,  would  they  in  the  navy. 
What  little  science  in  naval  tactics  was  acquired,  was  lost 
by  American  navigators  in  the  peaceable  pursuits  of  law- 
ful commerce,  and  drawing  from  the  bosom  of  the  oceaa 
its  inexhaustible  treasures. 

Thus,  in  few  words,  were  situated,  the  ocean-warriors 
of  the  infant  Republic,  when  that  awfully  unequal  contest 
commenced,  which  gave  Independence  to  America,  and 
wrested  from  the  British  diadem,  its  most  brilliant  and  in- 


INTRODUCTION. 

valuable  gem.  Merchantmen  were  suddenly  converted 
into  privateers,  and  British  commerce,  of  immense  value, 
and  transport  ships,  with  army  and  navy  stores,  were  rap- 
idly brought  into  American  ports.  The  very  naval  stores 
indispensably  necessary  to  fit  out  armed  ships,  were  drawn 
from  the  enemy  ;  thus  weakening  them  and  strengthening 
our  energetic  ancestors.  The  legislatures  of  the  several 
colonies,  aided  the  daring  sons  of  the  deep  in  their  noble 
endeavours,  and  began  to  build  "  state  ships."  The  Con- 
tinental Congress,  at  the  close  of  1775,  made  provision, 
for  building     5  vessels  of  32  guns,     160  guns. 

5  "  28     "         140    " 

3  "  24     "  72    " 

13  372 

None  of  these  were  fitted  for  sea  until  about  the  time  of 
the  Declaration  of  American  Independence.  There  were 
no  navy  yards — no  naval  depots — no  naval  stations — and 
but  few  naval  architects.  But  that  fecundity  of  genius 
which  draws  the  means  of  action  from  resources  invisible 
to  the  eye  of  despondency,  enabled  the  statesmen  and  war- 
riors of  that  portentous  period  to  achieve  wonders,  bor- 
dering upon  miracles,  with  means  apparently  wholly  ineffi- 
cient. The  denominations  of  vessels  at  that  time  were 
"  Continental  Ships,"  "  State  Ships,"  "  Letters  of  Marque," 
and  "  Privateers." 

There  was  then  no  Naval  List  of  ships,  nor  Naval  Reg- 
ister of  Officers  ;  at  least  none  can  be  found  by  the  writer. 
Information  upon  this  subject  can  be  gathered  only  from 
the  scattered  materials  of  that  period, — information  from 
the  few*surviving  veterans  of  the  revolution,  and  communi- 
cations from  obliging  correspondents. 

It  will  excite  astonishment  in  the  reader,  that  the  whole 


34  INTRODPCTIOJV. 

Continental  marine  force  in  1776,  was  less  than  four  74's 
at  this  time  (1823).  This  diminutive  force,  with  the  aid 
of  State  ships  and  privateers,  was  illy  calculated  to  face 
the  immense  naval  power  of  Britain  which  stretched  along 
the  American  coast.  But  it  could  reach  the  wealthy  com- 
merce of  Britain,  if  it  could  not  encounter  her  powerful  ma- 
rine. Let  the  reader  run  over  the  following  authentic 
list  of  Ships  of  the  Line,  and  add  to  them  more  than  tre- 
ble that  number  of  Frigates,  Sloops  of  War,  Brigs,  Schoo- 
ners, &c.  and  he  will  see  what  the  "  Naval  Heroes  in  the 
War  of  the  Revolution"  had  to  encounter — 

"  The  following  is  an  authentic  list  of  the  grand  Chan- 
nel Fleet,  which  will  sail  on  or  before  the  21st  inst.  under 
the  command  of  Admirals  Hardy,  Darby,  Barrington  and 
Digby  : — Victory  100  guns,  Britannia  100,  Royal  George 
100,  Duke  90,  Formidable  90,  Namur  90,  Ocean  90,  Un- 
ion 90,  Barfleur  90,  Prince  George  90,  Queen  90,  Fou- 
droyant  90,  Princess  Amelia  80,  Gibraltar  80,  Marlbo- 
rough 74,  Alexander  74,  Dublin  74,  Fortitude  74,  Cullo- 
den  74,  Valiant  74,  Conrageux  74,  Arrogant  74,  Alcine 
74,  Cumberland  74,  Bellona  74,  Alfred  74,  Monarch  74. 
Diligente,  Sp.  pr.  70,  Princessa,  Sp.  pr.  70,  Monarca,  Sp, 
pr.  70,  Inflexible  64,  Monmouth  64,  Nonsuch  64,  Prince 
William,  Sp.  64,  Prothee,  Fr.  pr.  64,  St.  Alban  64,  Buf- 
falo 64,  Chatham  55,  Isis  50,  Jupiter  50,  Portland  50, 
Warwick  50— Total,  41." 

Whatever  may  be  the  opinion  of  ethical  writers  and  cas- 
uistical declaimers  upon  the  subject  of  privateering,  or  in 
any  way  capturing  the  property  of  unoffending  merchant- 
men, let  it  never  be  forgotten,  that  Britain  waged  a  war, 
not  only  of  vengeance,  but  of  extermination,  against  her 
own  children,  in  what  she  vauntingly  called,  her  »w»  colo- 


INTRODUCTION.  35 

it  an  affectionate  mother  is  entitled 
to  unceasing  gratitude  and  filial  affection  ;  yet,  when  a 
mother,  with  an  uplifted  hand  is  about  dooming  her  chil- 
dren to  bleed,  shall  they  be  called  upon  to  bare  their  bo- 
soms to  the  dagger? 

The  commencement  and  progress  of  the  first  war  be- 
tween Britain  and  America,  was  marked  on  the  part  of  the 
former,  with  a  ferocity  and  a  barbarism  which  would  have 
produced  compunctions  in  the  breasts,  and  blushes  upon 
the  cheeks  of  the  ancient  Vandals  and  Goths.  War  was 
made,  not  only  upon  the  embattled  ranks  of  our  noble  an- 
cestors, but  upon  the  humble  mansions  of  unresisting  weak- 
ness. A  cheerless  track  of  desolation,  like  a  flight  of  lo- 
custs through  verdant  fields,  pointed  out  the  path  of  the 
vindictive  foe  ;  and  unappeased  wrath  and  ceaseless  rapa- 
city seemed  to  have  converted  the  once  noble  Britons  in- 
to da3mons.  Could  the  hardy  sons  of  Neptune  remain  in- 
active spectators  of  the  devastations  committed,  and  com- 
mitting, upon  the  cities,  towns  and  villages  upon  the  bor- 
ders of  the  ocean,*  without  ardently  wishing  to  avenge 
them  upon  the  bosom  of  that  element  ?  No  !  the  divine 
doctrine  which  enjoins  it  upon  men  to  render  to  each  oth- 
er "good  for  evil,"  may  be  preached  by  the  "  Holy  Alli- 
ance" of  "  Legitimate  Sovereigns"  of  Europe,  who  had 
waded  through  blood  to  their  tottering  thrones  in  the  19th 
century,  and  still  sustain  them  by  blood — it  may  be  echoed 

*  Witness  the  burning  of  Falmouth  (now  Portland)  in  Maine.— 
Charjestown,  Mass. ;  the  ruin  of  the  island  of  Rhode-Island  ;  the  con- 
flagration of  New-London,  Fairfield,  and  Norvvalk,  Conn. ;  Esopus,  N. 
Y.  Norfolk,  Va.  and  the  partial  destruction,  and  plundering  of  innu- 
merable other  places  upon  the  sea-board. 


36  i  PRODUCTION. 

by  the  Peace  Societies*  of  America.  Yet  it  belongs  not  t© 
the  code  of  the  Law  of  Nations,  when  a  powerful  sovereign 
is  waging  vindictive  war  upon  unoffending  colonies,  as  Bri- 
tain did  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution  against  America,  and 
as  France  is  now  waging  war  against  Spain. 

To  say  more  by  way  of  introduction  to  the  following 
Sketches,  would  fatigue  the  reader — his  patience  is  alrea- 
dy exhausted,  and  yet.  the  "half  is  not  told."  This  "birds'- 
eye  view"  was  deemed  necessary  to  lead  the  younger  class 
of  readers  to  contemplate  the  causes  which  led  to  the  san- 
guinary contest,  which  called  forth  the  unparalleled  exer- 
tions of  the  Naval  Heroes  of  the  Revolution  to  achieve 
the  unsurpassed  deeds,  imperfectly  detailed  in  the  suc- 
ceeding volume. 

*  The  following  is  the  result  of  the  inquiries  of  the  Massachusetts 
Peace  Society,  formed  at  about  the  dose  of  the  second  war  between 
the  American  Republic  and  the  kingdom  of  Great-Britain ;  and  of 
which  the  Autocrat  of  Russia  is  a  peaceable  member.  In  what  class  of 
wars  the  War  of  the  Revolution — the  naval  warfare  with  France,  in 
the  administration  of  Adams — the  war  with  Tripoli,  in  the  administra- 
tion of  Jefferson— the  second  war  between  America  and  Britain  in 
the  administration  of  Madison,  are  included,  is  not  known  by  the  wri- 
ter of  these  "  Sketches."— 

"  44  Wars  of  ambition  to  obtain  extent  of  country.  22  Wars  for 
plunder,  tribute,  &c.  24  Wars  for  retaliation  or  revenge.  8  Wars  to 
settle  some  question  of  war  or  prerogative-  6  Wars  arising  from  dis- 
puted claims  to  some  territory.  41  Wars  arising  from  disputed  titles 
to  crowns.  30  Wars  commenced  under  pretence  of  assisting  an  ally. 
23  Wars  originating  in  jealousy  of  rival  greatness.  5  Wars  which 
have  grown  out  of  commerce.  55  Civil  Wars.  28  Wars  on  account 
of  religion,  including  the  crusades  against  the  Turks  aad  heretics,'*' 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

OF 

NICHOLAS  BIDDLE, 

COMMODORE   AND   POST-CAPTAIN 
IN    THE 

CONTINENTAL  NAVY, 
IN  THE  WAR  OF  THE  REVOLUTION. 


Place  and  time  of  his  birth— his  early  propensities  and  pursuits— his 
shipwreck  and  sufferings  upon  a  desolate  island— returns  to  Ameri- 
ca, and  continues  in  the  merchant  service — aspires  to  the  service  of 
a  warrior  under  Geo.  III.— Falkland  Islands— Junius  and  Johnson. 
—Expedition  to  the  North  Pole— Biddle  becomes  a  coxswain,  with 
Horatio,  afterwards  Lord  Nelson,  in  that  voyage. — Hazard  and  per- 
il of  the  voyage.— After  Biddle's  return  to  England,  he  finds  that 
power  on  the  verge  of  a  war  with  America— Returns  to  America 
in  1775— is  appointed  to  a  small  vessel,  the  Camden,  to  defend  the 
Delaware  river— is  ordered  to  the  Andrew  Doria,  attached  to  Com. 
Hopkins'  squadron,  destined  againstNew-Providence — Regains  two 
deserters  by  his  consummate  courage — Distress  of  the  squadron  by 
the  small-pox — Capt.  Biddle's  humane  exertions — he  returns  to 
America — Sails  alone  under  orders  of  Congress — Compels  Lord 
Howe  to  exchange  one  of  his  Lieutenants— Captures  many  prizes 
—returns  and  takes  comjoand  of  the  Continental  ship  Randolph- 
he  suppresses  a  mutiny— loses  all  his  masts— enters  a  port,  refits  and 
puts  to  sea— captures  the  Free  Briton  and  three  other  vessels,  and 
returns  into  Charleston,  (S.  C.)  seven  days  after  his  departure. — 
Commodore  Biddle  is  appointed  to  the  command  of  a  squadron,  the 
Randolph,  Gen  Moultrie,  Fair  American,  and  the  Polly— The  of- 
ficers and  soldiers  of  Gen.  C.  C.  Pinckney  volunteer  onboard  his 
squadron — He  sails  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy — Falls  in  with  the  Yar- 
mouth British  ship  of  64  guns,  which  attacks  the  Randolph  of  32 
guns,  in  the  night— Com.  Biddle  is  wounded,  and  remains  upon  the 
deck,  until  his  ship  explodes — Reflection — Character  of  Com.  Bid- 
die. 

Upon  commencing  a  brief  sketch  of  the  life  of  Nicholas 
Biddle,  a  solicitude  is  sensibly  felt  which  can  be  but  feebh 
described.  To  portray  the  life  and  character  of  an  ardenl 
hero,  who  entered  early  into  the  service  of  a  monarch, 
who  swayed  the  sceptre  of  dominion  over  his  native  conn- 


^8  NAVAL  HEROES. 

try,  and  who  died  a  Commodore  in  fighting  against  the 
same  monarch,  to  secure  the  Independence  of  the  land  of 
his  birth,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-seven,  requires  a  vol- 
ume instead  of  a  sketch,— the  hand  of  a  Plutarch,  instead 
of  "  such  an  honest  chronicler  as  Griffith.'1'1 

This  gallant  and  fearless  ocean  hero  was  born  in  the 
city  of  Philadelphia,  in  the  year  1750.  His  ancestry  can- 
not  be  traced  far  back  by  the  writer,  for  the  want  of  mate- 
rials. Indeed,  were  materials  for  such  an  attempt  ever  so 
copiously  strewed  around,  it  would  be  a  useless  waste  of 
time  to  trace  the  genealogy  of  Nicholas  Biddle.  If  he 
did  not  derive  a  great  name  from  his  ancestors,  he  made  the 
name  of  Biddle  dear  to  Americans.  He  was  the  sixth  son 
of  William  Biddle  of  New  Jersey,  and  who  removed  to 
Philadelphia  to  prosecute  commercial  business. 

He  discovered  his  propensity  for  a  nautical  life  in  the 
early  period  of  his  existence.  However  much  his  parents 
might  have  wished  to  retain  him  in  their  domestic  circle, 
until  more  mature  age,  and  greater  literary  and  scientific 
acquirements  rendered  him  better  qualified  for  a  bold  ad- 
venturer into  a  dangerous  and  pityless  world,  they  found 
it  wholly  impossible  to  restrain  his  juvenile  ardour,  or  pre- 
vent him  from  accomplishing  his  darling  object. 

At  the  age  of  thirteen,  he  made  a  voyage  to  Quebec,  in 
Canada.  It  was  a  pleasant  and  prosperous  voyage  ;  and 
he  became  fascinated  with  the  charms  of  the  ocean,  and 
the  exhilarating  scenes  of  a  sailor's  life. 

Having  explored  a  portion  of  the  American  coast,  he 
became  anxious  to  penetrate  farther  into  an  element  with 
which  he  had  become  enamoured. 

This  adventurous  youth  little  anticipated  the  disastrous 
scenes  he  was  about  to  encounter.     Indeed,  if  it  were  only 


COM.  NICHOLAS  BIDDLE.  3lJ 

partially  revealed  to  men,  what  their  future  destiny  should 
be,  it  would  produce  inconsiderate  rashness  in  some,  and 
in  others, — 

"  The  native  hue  of  resolution,  would 

Be  sicklied  o'er  by  the  pale  cast  of  thought." 

The  second  voyage  the  ardent  Biddle  made,  was  from 
his  native  city  to  the  Island  of  Jamaica,  from  thence  to  the 
Bay  of  Honduras.  After  having  accomplished  the  object 
of  the  voyage  to  this  bay,  the  master  of  the  vessel  sailed 
for  Antigua,  at  near  the  close  of  the  year  1765. 

Upon  the  night  of  the  2nd  of  January  '66  in  a  violent 
gale  of  wind,  the  vessel  was  wrecked  upon  a  fatal  and  im- 
passable shoal.  The  crew  remained  upon  the  deck, 
through  the  night  of  the  3d,  and  until  late  in  the  morning  of 
the  4th.  Finding  it  impossible  to  sustain  themselves  upon 
the  wreck,  they  resorted  to  the  forlorn  hope  of  wrecked 
mariners — the  boat.  After  enduring  the  imminent  hazard 
of  an  agitated  ocean,  in  a  feeble  boat,  crowded  with  a  crew, 
whom  it  was  scarcely  able  to  keep  above  water,  they  land- 
ed upon  a  desolate  and  unpeopled  island,  ten  miles  from 
the  shoal  where  they  were  wrecked.  After  remaining  a 
number  of  days  upon  the  island — famishing  with  hunger, 
and  making  what  repairs  the  scanty  means  in  their  power 
afforded,  a  part  of  the  crew  ventured  off  to  the  wreck,  and 
procured  a  small  supply  of  ruined  provisions  ;  which,  like 
the  fcetus  of  a  camel,  or  a  putrified  wen,  to  Robbins,  was 
to  them  a  delicious  repast  ! 

Soon  after,  one  of  the  most  appalling  and  distressing 
scenes,  which  the  destitute,  forlorn  and  miserable  sons  of 
Adam  have  to  pass  through  in  this  "  vale  of  tears,"  was  to 
be  acted  by  this  hard- fated  crew. 

They  could  not  sustain  themselves  upon  the  island  ;  and 


40  NAVAL  HEROES. 

the  damaged  boat  could  not  carry  them  all  from  it.  Four 
were  to  be  left,  and  to  suffer  what  Providence  should  de- 
cree, or  had  decreed.  Who  should  remain  upon  this  re- 
gion of  barrenness,  and  who  should  enter  the  boat,  (both 
desperate  chances,)  was  to  be  determined  by  the  usual, 
uncertain,  and  capricious  mode — by  lot.  This  mode,  ac- 
cording to  sacred  history,  decided  the  fate  of  a  prophet  ; 
and  it  has  often  determined  the  dark  and  gloomy  prospect 
o{  life  when  "  shadows  clouds  and  darkness  rest  upon  it." 

Young  Biddle  at  this  time  was  a  boy  of  fourteen  years  of 
age.  He  was  in  that  period  of  life,  when  most  boys  con- 
tinue to  hang  upon  the  arms  of  their  mothers,  for  effemi- 
nate indulgences,  and  who  look  to  their  fathers  for  protec- 
tion. When  the  lots  were  cast,  it  fell  upon  Biddle  to  re- 
main upon  the  island  ;  to  perish  or  escape  as  the  dark  fu- 
ture should  determine.  With  his  three  companions  in  ca- 
lamity, he  endured  all  the  privations  and  anguish  which 
man  can  endure,  and  yet  survive.  Inheriting  from  his  an- 
cestors a  constitution  which  possessed  the  real  stamina  of 
the  European  emigrants  to  America,  and  an  original 
strength  of  mind  which  was  not  to  be  daunted  by  adversity 
nor  effeminated  by  prosperity,  he  passed  through  scenes  of 
sufferings,  and  privations,  which  might  well  have  appalled 
the  heart  of  matured  manhood.  I  do  not  mean  those  suf- 
ferings inflicted  by  a  barbarous  and  relentless  foe,  who  pur- 
sues an  enemy  "  with  a  step  steady  as  time,  and  with  an 
appetite  keen  as  death,"  nor  those  dangers  which  surround 
an  ardent  and  adventurous  youth,  who  would  glory  to  die 
on  the  field  of  battle,  or  on  the  deck  of  a  vessel,  in  fighting 
the  battles  of  his  country  ;  but  those  sufferings' and  dangers 
are  meant  which  are  occasioned  by  a  diminution  of  the 
wonted  supplies  which  nature  demands,  and  the  gloomy 


COM.  NICHOLAS  BIDDLE.  hi 

and  distressing  consideration  that  a  total  destitution  uf  them 
is  near  at  hand. 

For  sixty  days,  young  Biddle,  and  his  three  associates 
(who  were  advanced  far  into  manhood,)  endured  those  dis- 
tresses and  privations,  which,  to  those  who  have  always 
lived  in  the  midst  of  temporal  enjoyments,  would  seem  to 
be  absolutely  beyond  the  endurance  of  human  nature.  It 
is  in  such  situations,  that  the  native  energy  and  fortitude  of 
men  develope  themselves.  To  retain  firmness  of  soul,  in 
a  state  of  hopeless  destitution  and  solitude,  where  there  is 
"  no  eye  to  pity  nor  arm  to  save,"  but  those  of  Omnipo- 
tence— to  wear  away  life  with  fortitude  upon  a  desolate 
island  like  Selkirk,  or  to  wander,  in  slavery,  over  an  out- 
spread desert  like  Robbins,  where  no  sympathizing  mortal 
can  witness  or  alleviate  suffering,  surely  evinces  the  origin- 
al greatness  of  the  sufferer's  soul.  Such  was  the  soul  of 
Biddle  in  the  days  of  his  youth.  But  he  was  created  for 
a  different  destiny  than  to  perish  by  famine,  or  the  hand  of 
slaves. 

At  the  expiration  of  two  months,  he  was  taken  from  the 
island,  and  returned  to  his  native  city,  in  an  American  ves- 
sel, and  immediately  again  resorted  to  his  adopted  element 
the  ocean. 

As  it  regards  Americans,  the  remark  may  safely  be  made, 
that  disasters,  storms,  shipwrecks,  and  "  hair  breadth 
'scapes,"  instead  of  driving  them  to  the  dull  and  perpetu- 
ally recurring  scenes  of  domestic  life,  rather  stimulates 
them  to  press  forward  to  new  encounters,  to  enable  them 
to  enjoy  the  exultation  of  success. — Life  may  be  called  a 
lottery— the  prize  holder  still  hopes  to  gain,  and  the  loser 
to  retrieve  his  losses. 

Young  Biddle  continued  in  the  merchant  service,   and 


42  NAVAL  HEROES. 

made  frequent  voyages  from  the  American,  to  the  Eastern 
continents.  But  there  was  something  too  tame  in  this  bu- 
siness to  fill  a  soul,  created  for  "  noble  daring."  He  had, 
to  be  sure,  made  himself  an  able  seaman,  but  that  is  an  ac- 
quisition within  the  reach  of  ordinary  capacity. 

In  the  year  1770,  the  unsatiated  ambition  of  Britain,  in- 
duced that  unsatisfied  power,  to  cast  a  wishful  eye  at  the 
Falkland  Islands,  in  the  possession  of  Spain.  A  war  was 
expected  between  England  and  that  power  "  and  Biddle 
wished  to  be  engaged  in  some  pursuit,  which  should  evince 
his  ardent  love  of  the  country  which  gave  him  birth,  and 
the  King  of  England,  who  swayed  his  sceptre  over  it. 

Altho'  born  an  American,  with  that  high  sense  of  inde- 
pendence which  characterized  Americans,  as  well  before  as 
after  their  allegiance  to  Britain  was  dissolved,  Biddle  wished 
to  serve  his  country  as  a  warrior.  The  dispute  concerning 
the  Falkland  Islands,  eventuated  in  no  other  warfare  than 
that  which  was  carried  on  between  the  Opposition,  and  the 
Ministerial  party  in  England.  At  the  head  of  the  first? 
stood  the  unknown,  and  the  unrivalled  Junius.  The  min- 
istry stood  aghast  and  terror-struck,  at  the  peals  of  elo- 
quence and  satire,  which  were  poured  forth  from  the  pen 
of  this  unsurpassed  champion  of  constitutional  freedom. 
The  descendants  of  the  house  of  Stuart  trembled  ;  and  the 
house  of  Brunswick  was  tortured  into  agony.  Grafton, 
Bedford,  and  Mansfield  trembled — and  the  throne  itself 
seemed  to  totter  under  the  tremendous  shocks  of  eloquence 
which  rolled  forth  from  this  resistless  political  essayist. 
Once  more  the  imperious  Johnson  advanced  with  the  ar- 
tillery of  his  pen,  and  commenced  a  war  of  words  in  sup 
port  of  majesty.  His  "  Taxation  no  Tyranny"  was  consid- 
ered as  a  bull  of  excommunication  against  high-minded 


COM.  NICHOLAS  BIDDLE. 

Americans,  who  could  not  be  brought  to  bow  to  parlia- 
mentary usurpation.  He  now  came  forward  and  attacked 
all  that  portion  of  Englishmen,  who  manfully  struggled  for 
the  wreck  of  freedom,  which  had  survived  the  numerous 
breaches  made  upon  the  constitution.  While  the  literary 
world  admire  Johnson  as  an  Essayist,  Moralist,  and  Lexi- 
cographer, the  patriot  abhors  him  as  the  pensioned  advo- 
cate of  despotic  power. 

Biddle  much  more  ardently  wished  to  be  amidst  the  roar 
of  broadsides,  and  the  thunder  of  batteries,  than  the  "  pa- 
per bullets  of  the  brain,"  which  issue  from  the  artillery  o' 
the  press.  But  a  reconciliation  between  Spain  and  Eng- 
land deprived  him  of  serving  his  then  "  king  and  country" 
as  a  warrior.  But  his  propensity  for  a  naval  life  predom 
inated  over  every  other  consideration  ;  and  the  appoint- 
ment of  Midshipman  in  one  of  H.  B.  Majesty's  ships,  com- 
manded by  Capt.  Stirling,  was  the  consummation  of  hi? 
wishes. 

It  was  in  this  station  that  he  commenced  the  study  of 
naval  tactics.  He  began  to  acquire  a  theoretical  knowl- 
edge of  that  almost  mysterious  system  which  imparts  such 
a  mysterious  power  to  floating  bulwarks.  Although  Brit- 
ain, for  many  centuries  past,  has  been  almost  constantly 
engaged  in  war,  yet  at  the  time  Midshipman  Biddle  enter- 
ed the  navy,  that  nation  happened  to  be  at  peace.  The 
ardent  Midshipman,  not  sufficiently  aware  of  the  import- 
ance of  acquiring  the  theory  of  naval  tactics  by  long  and 
patient  service,  impatiently  and  impetuously  determined 
to  enter  into  some  more  active  and  adventurous  employ. 
He  had  that  natural  inquietude, — that  impatience  for  en 
terprize  which  rendered  inaction  to  him  the  greatest  mis- 
ery. 


44  NAVAL  HEROES. 

An  opportunity  presented,  when  the  Admiralty  of  Br'u 
tain  determined  to  despatch  two  of  their  best  fitted  vessels 
of  their  class  the  Race-Horse  and  Carcase,  for  a  voyage  of 
Discovery  toward  the  North  Pole  ;  and  a  most  distinguish- 
ed British  officer,  Lord  Mulgrave,  was  designated  as  com- 
mander of  the  expedition. 

There  was  something  too  splendid  in  this  object  to  be 
overlooked  by  the  aspiring  Biddle.  He  solicited  a  dis- 
charge from  the  station  he  held  in  the  British  navy  for  the 
purpose  of  entering  into  this  expedition.  He  had  become 
a  favorite  of  Capt.  Stirling — had  been  promoted  to  a  lieu- 
tenancy, and  he  strongly  remonstrated  against  his  leaving 
the  service  of  the  king  in  his  navy.  But,  it  was  wholly  im- 
possible to  restrain  a  spirit  like  Biddle's  from  sacrificing 
the  rank  he  had  obtained  in  the  navy,  and  the  certain  pros- 
pect he  had  for  promotion,  from  gratifying  his  ardent  wish- 
es, for  advancing  forward  into  scenes  of  enterprize  and 
danger. 

When  Biddle  found  that  Capt.  Stirling  would  not  con- 
sent to  the  gratification  of  his  wishes,  he  resolved  to  be- 
come the  master  of  his  own  conduct  and  run  the  risque  of 
its  consequences.  He  flung  off  his  naval  uniform — divest- 
ed himself  of  every  insignia  of  office,  and  assumed  the  garb 
of  a  common  seaman.  When  the  Race-Horse  and  Carcase 
were  nearly  ready  for  departure,  Biddle  seized  a  boat,  row- 
ed off' to  the  Carcase — jumped  on  board  of  her,  and  enter- 
ed as  a  seamen  before  the  mast.  He  was  recognized  by  a 
seaman  who  had  served  under  him,  and  whose  manly  cheeks 
were  immediately  moistened  by  the  copious  tribute  of  tears 
which  grief  forced  from  his  eyes.  He  thought  his  beloved 
Lieutenant  had  been  degraded  ;  but  when  he  learned  from 
Biddle  the  facts  just  related,  his  exultation  surpassed  his 


COM.  NICHOLAS  BIDDLE.  45 

Rejection.  This  affectionate  tar  continued  the  unaltera- 
ble friend  of  Biddle,  during  the  whole  of  the  perilous  voy- 
age to  the  Pole.  This  simple  fact  shows  that  Biddle,  in 
very  early  life,  possessed  the  rare  talent  of  securing  re- 
spect by  his  dignity,  and  attachment  by  his  benevolence. 

That  prodigy  ofa  man — that  paragon  of  naval  greatness, 
and  human  weakness — that  matchless  commander  upon 
the  ocean,  and  easy  victim  of  seductive  charms  upon  land — 
Horatio  Nelson — was  on  board  this  vessel.  Two  more 
congenial  spirits,  so  far  as  it  regarded  manly  energy  and 
naval  ardor — could  not  be  associated  than  BIDDLE  and 
NELSON  :  and  had  the  fortune  of  war  have  placed  the 
American  in  the  same  situation  it  subsequently  did  the 
English  hero,  it  is  not  presuming  too  much  to  suppose  that 
he  would  have  acquired  laurels  of  equal  splendour. 

Their  commander  soon  appointed  them  cockswains. — 
This  designation  evinces  the  estimation  in  which  these  ar- 
dent and  aspiring  young  heroes  were  holden  by  the  noble 
commander  of  this  interesting  and  hazardous  expedition. 
The  duty  of  cockswain  requires  the  most  dauntless,  skilful 
and  intrepid  spirits  to  execute  it ;  and  these  adventurous, 
and  fearless  candidates  for  fame,  soon  discovered  their  na- 
tive energy,  and  displayed  their  nautical  skill.  This  voy- 
age was  made  in  1773. 

Although  the  polar  regions  were  not  then  altogether  un- 
explored, yet  perhaps  no  preceding  navigators  ever,  ac- 
complished more  than  the  officers  and  crews  of  the  Race- 
Horse  and  Carcase.  It  presented  to  the  view  of  the  young- 
er as  well  as  to  the  more  advanced  sons  of  the  ocean  the 
stupendous  works  of  nature  in  lofty  mountains  and  floating 
islands  of  ice.  To  encounter  an  enemy  upon  the  ocean, 
in  the  usual  mode  of  fighting  upon  that  element,  where  the 


46  NAVAL  HEROES. 

prospects  of  victory,  and  the  numerous  chances  for  escape, 
remove  all  ideas  of  despair,  is  next  to  amusement  when 
compared  with  encountering  an  iron-bound  shore,  or  float- 
ing regions  of  ice  which  defy  the  utmost  exertion  of  hu- 
man power  to  resist.  But  even  in  such  situations,  the  fu- 
ry and  the  terror  of  the  elements  seem  to  yield  their  de- 
structive power  to  the  skill  and  prowess  of  man. 

The  vessel  in  which  Biddle  sailed  reached  nearly  as  far 
as  the  82°  of  north  latitude,  and  subsequent  navigators 
have  never  penetrated  farther  than  to  the  84°.* 

A  minute  detail  of  the  events  of  this  voyage  would  be 
inconsistent  with  the  objects  of  this  sketch,  which  is  intend- 
ed to  present  a  miniature  picture  of  the  gallant  Biddle. 
For  a  number  of  days,,  the  vessel  and  crew  to  which  he 
was  attached,  was  in  the  most  imminent  danger  of  destruc- 
tion. Indeed,  for  five  days,  her  destruction  seemed  inev- 
itable, as  the  Carcase  was  completely  surrounded  and  hem- 
med in  by  mountains  of  ice.  No  imaginable  situation 
could  be  calculated  to  produce  in  the  mind  more  horror 
and  despair.  But  Biddle,  a  second  time,  escaped  a  disas- 
trous death,  to  meet  with  one,  if  possible  still  more  tragic- 
al. He  returned  to  England  and  exhibited  his  own  jour- 
nal of  the  incidents  of  the  voyage,  which  was  lost  when  he 
was  lost  to  his  country,  and  the  world. 

At  the  time  Biddle  returned  to  England,  the  long  pro- 
tracted dispute  between  the  American  colonists  and  the 
crown  of  Britain  was  drawing  to  that  issue,  when  encroach- 

*  The  voracious  devourers  of  wonderful  news  have  lately  been 

amused  with  the  story  that  Capt. had  actually    "  doubled  the 

North  Pole  ;"  and  that  if  the  ukase  of  Alexander  did  not  detain  him, 
he  would  sail  home  peaceably  through  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Perhaps 
some  subsequent  navigator  may  enter  "  Symmes'  Hole"  and  sail 
through  the  earth. 


COM.  NICHOLAS  BIDDLE.  47 

ments  and  remonstrance,  impositions  and  concessions,  pe- 
titions and  rejections,  were  all  to  give  place  to  the  decisions 
of  the  sword. 

Every  suggestion  and  inducement,  excepting  those  of 
patriotism  and  devotion  to  country,  would  have  led  Bid- 
die  to  devote  his  services  to  the  king  and  country  in  whose 
service  he  commenced  his  naval  life,  and  with  whose  al- 
most boundless  power  he  had  become  familiarly  acquainted. 
In  that  power  he  recognized  the  imperious  Queen  of  the 
Ocean.  Her  floating  batteries  were  riding  triumphantly  in 
every  sea  and  ocean.  With  the  "  mind's  eye"  he  viewed 
the  ports  and  shores  of  his  native  country,  feeble,  defence- 
less, and  unprotected,  save  by  the  imperfect  fortifications, 
and  the  bayonets  of  his  countrymen.  But  this  patriotic 
son  of  a  rising  Republic  would  not  suffer  himself  to  "  de- 
bate which  of  the  two  to  choose,  slavery  or  death.11 

He  returned  again  to  the  bosom  of  his  native,  and  then 
endangered  country,  in  the  year  1 775.  The  Thirteen  Col- 
onies then  had  not  a  single  frigate,  sloop  of  war,  brig  orgun 
boat  belonging  to  the  government.  But  a  daring  and  ar- 
dent spirit  like  Biddle  was  not  born  to  despair  of  the  com- 
monwealth. Merchants  and  ship-owners,  deprived  of  their 
wonted  commercial  pursuits,  converted  many  of  their  hea- 
vier vessels  into  privateers,  and  the  hardy  sons  of  the  deep 
impetuously  rushed  forward  to  lend  their  aid  in  repelling 
the  cruel  and  implacable  enemy  who  were  devastating  the 
country;  and  though  with  apparently  feeble  means,  to 
chastise  the  insolent  foe  upon  the  element  of  which  she 
claimed  herself  to  be  mistress. 

The  immense  disparity  of  Naval  power  between  the  Re- 
public and  Britain,  in  the  second  sanguinary  war  which 
commenced  in  1812,  was  pointed  out  by  the  writer  in  at- 


48  NAVAL  HEROES. 

tempting  to  present  the  American  reader  with  the  Life  and 
Character  of  the  unrivalled  Decatur  ;  hut  in  the  first  war, 
which  commenced  in  177  5,  there  was  nothing  with  which 
to  compare  the  overwhelming  naval  power  of  Britain,  in 
the  Thirteen  Colonies,  for  as  to  naval  power,  they  had 
nojme.  But  the  Old  Congress — the  Colonial  Assemblies, 
patriotic  combinations,  and  even  single  individuals,  suffer- 
ed not  the  paralyzing  effects  of  fear  or  despondency  to 
check  the  ardor  of  patriotism  ;  but  promptly  seconded  the 
noble  wishes  of  their  noble  countrymen  upon  the  ocean  as 
well  as  upon  land.  They  did  not  suffer  themselves  even 
to  hesitate  or  doubt,  knowing  that — 

"  Our  doubts  are  traitors,  that  make  us  lose  the  good 

"  We  oft  might  win,  by  fearing  to  attempt.11 

The  language  of  each  Statesmen,  Soldier  and  Seamen  of 
that  gloomy  and  portentous  period  was — 

"  I  dare  do  all  that  may  become  a  man; 

Who  dares  do  more  is  none." 

It  was  indeed  a  period  when  the  ordinary  calculations  of 
prudence,  and  the  dictates  of  moderation,  were  in  some 
measure  to  be  disregarded  from  the  extraordinary  and  al- 
most unparalleled  circumstances  in  which  Americans  were 
placed  by  the  imperious  crown  of  Britain  in  1775. 

In  Nicholas  Biddle  was  recognized  an  exalted  Amer- 
ican, in  the  ardour  of  youth,  and  with  a  heart  glowing  with 
patriotism,  fitted  for  the  time  and  the  occasion.  A  large 
galley  was  fitted  suddenly  up  for  the  defence  of  the  river 
Delaware,  upon  which  his  native  city  was  situated,  and 
called  the  Camden.  The  command  of  it  was  offered  to 
Capt.  Biddle,  which,  for  the  want  of  a  more  active  and  ad- 
venturous service,  he  accepted. 

Although  but  twenty-five  years  of  age,  his  previous  ser~ 


COM.  NICHOLAS  BIDDLE. 

vice  in  the  British  navy,  and  his  voyage  to  the  polar  re- 
gion*, had  rendered  him  as  familiar  with  naval  tactics  and 
nautical  skill  as  any  American,  at  any  age,  at  that  period. 
Although  to  navigate  the  Delaware  with  an  armed  galley, 
might  now  (182  3)  be  considered  an  humble  station,  yet 
Capt.  Biddie  then  deemed  it  his  duty  to  act  in  any  station, 
sobeit  he  could  render  any  service  to  his  then  almost  un- 
protected country.  He  was  willing  to  move  in  a  minor, 
although  well  calculated  for  an  exalted  station.  He  could 
not  become  small  by  being  in  a  little  place. 

He  continued  in  this  service  until  an  expedition  was  fit- 
ted out  for  the  island  of  New- Providence,  one  of  the  West 
India  islands.  This  expedition  might  even  now  be  consid- 
ered as  a  daring  one,  were  America  at  war  with  Britain  .; 
then  it  might  be  considered  as  a  desperate  one. 

Capt.  Biddie,  whose  qualifications  had  become  known  to 
the  government  for  such  an  undertaking,  was  appointed  to 
the  command  of  the  armed  brig  Andrew  Doria.  She  ra- 
ted at  fourteen  guns,  and  her  crew  consisted  of  an  hundred 
and  thirty  men.  He  was  indefatigable  in  preparing  his 
crew  for  the  service,  as  at  that  period,  naval  service  was 
almost  wholly  unknown  to  American  seamen,  who  had 
spent  their  lives  in  the  merchant  service. 

While  at,  or  near  the  shore,  a  very  stout  and  able  bodied 
seaman,  by  the  name  of  Green,  shrinking  from  the  hazard 
of  the  expedition,  and  dreading  to  desert  alone,  induced 
another  of  the  crew  to  desert  with  him.  They  were  de- 
tected and  lodged  in  prison,  but  little  distance  from  the 
Capes  of  Delaware,  where  Capt.  Biddie  was  lying  with  his 
brig.  He  sent  one  of  his  Lieutenants  on  shore  to  regain 
the  deserters.  The  Lieutenant  returned,  and  assured  the 
Captain,  that  the  deserters,  with  a  number  of  other  despe- 


60  NAVAL  HEROES. 

radoes  had  fortified  themselves  in  the  prison,  and  bidden 
defiance  to  the  civil  and  military  power  to  take  them. 
They  were  supported  in  prison  by  the  loyalists  and  tories, 
and  encouraged  in  their  desperation. 

This  pusillanimous  condnct  in  the  organized  powers, 
and  desperate  determination  in  two  dastardly  deserters 
from  the  flag  of  their  country,  afforded  the  young  and  fear- 
less Biddle  an  opportunity  to  develope  his  character.  He 
selected  a  favourite  Midshipman  only  to  attend  him  on 
shore.  Full  armed,  he  approached  the  prison  door,  and 
with  a  manly  and  commanding  voice  demanded  entrance. 
It  was  refused.  The  door  being  strongly  secured  within, 
he  ordered  it  to  be  forced  ;  although  Green  and  his  asso- 
ciates had  repeatedly  declared  that  instant  death  should 
be  the  fate  of  any  one  who  had  the  presumption  to  pass  the 
threshold.  Biddle  entered  with  a  loaded  pistol  in  each 
hand,  and,  bringing  his  heart  and  soul  into  his  face,  sternly 
advanced  towards  Green,  who  was  well  armed,  exclaiming 
with  a  stentorian  voice,  "Take  good  aim,  Green,  or  you 
are  surely  a  dead  man."  The  agitated  and  trembling  de- 
serter dropped  his  weapon,  and  he,  with  his  deluded  com- 
rade, returned  to  their  duty  on  board  of  the  Andrew  Do- 
ria.  Death  on  the  yard  arm,  like  that  of  the  British  de- 
serters taken  from  the  Chesapeake  frigate,  in  more  modern 
days,  would  unquestionably  have  been  their  fate,  had  they 
belonged  to  a  British,  instead  of  an  American  vessel.  But 
the  Captain,  who  awed  these  men  into  submission  by  his 
fearless  firmness,  secured  their  attachment  to  him  and  to 
their  country  by  the  suavity  and  humanity  of  his  conduct. 
Capt.  Biddle's  early  example  of  uniting  the  dignity  of  the 
warrior,  with  the  humanity  of  the  man,  has  been  happily 
followed  in  our  day. 


COM.  NICHOLAS  BIDDLE.  51 

Commodore  Hopkins  was  the  commander  in  chief  of  this? 
expedition.  The  expected  rencontre  with  the  British  for- 
ces upon  the  island  of  New  Providence  was  anticipated  as 
a  most  desperate  one.  Capt.  Biddle,  well  acquainted  with 
the  firmness  and  courage  of  Britons,  with  whom  his  coun- 
try was  now  at  war,  prepared  his  crew  as  well  as  he  possi- 
bly could  for  the  approaching  scefle.  Cool,  collected,  and 
fearless,  he  left  no  duty  undischarged  to  prepare  for  the 
approaching  attack.  He  was  well  aware  that  he  had  en- 
tered into  a  service  encircled  with  dangers  ;  but,  in  the 
language  of  one  of  the  finest  painters  of  the  human  passions, 
he  was — 

"  Serene,  and  master  of  himself, — prepared 

For  what  might  come— and  left  the  rest  to  heaven." 

Uncertain  whether  he  should  ever  again  revisit  his  native 
shores  or  city,  he  thus  addressed  his  brother: — u  I  know 
not  what  my  fate  may  be  ;  be  it,  however,  what  it  may,  you 
may  be  assured  Iivill  never  cause  a  blush  in  the  cheeks  of  my 
friends  or  countrymen."  His  brother,  whom  he  thus  pa- 
thetically addressed,  was  a  distinguished  scholar ;  and  it 
would  remind  the  classical  reader  of  what  Pope  wrote  to 
Lord  Harley  "  My  mother,  such  as  she  is,  never  caused 
me  a  blush,  and  her  son,  such  as  he  is,  never  caused  her  a 
tear." 

Capt.  Biddle's  crew  were  chiefly  Pennsylvanians  ;  and 
had  survived  that  once  alarming  and  mortal  disease,  the 
small  pox.  The  crews  of  the  other  vessels  of  Com.  Hop- 
kins' squadron  were  mostly  New  Englanders,  who  had 
never  taken  that  loathsome  and  appalling  disorder.  They 
became  infected  with  it  after  they  had  put  to  sea;  and  it 
raged  with  almost  resistless  violence.  It  became  the  mel- 
ancholy business  of  the  well  to  watch  over  the  births  of  the 


52  NAVAL  HEROES. 

sick — to  cast  the  lifeless  bodies  of  the  dead  into  a  watery 
grave,  and  then  become  victims  themselves  to  the  raging 
pestilence. 

"  'Twas  all  the  business  then  to  tend  the  sick, 
And  in  their  turn  to  die." 

Capt.  Biddle  with  that  feeling  humanity  which  is  always 
a  concomitant  with  real  greatness,  exerted  every  mean  in 
his  power  to  assuage  the  distresses  of  his  languishing  coun- 
trymen. His  crew,  being  uninfected,  he  despatched  his 
boats  from  time  to  time  to  the  other  vessels,  and  brought 
on  board  the  Andrew  Doria,  such  officers  and  seamen  as 
were  in  the  most  dangerous  condition.  Amongst  them  he 
recognized  an  elegant  young  midshipman,  who  was  in  the 
last  stages  of  this  dreadful  distemper.  He  laid  him  in  his 
own  birth — watched  over  him  with  the  most  tender  solici- 
tude— slept  himself  upon  the  lockers,  until  death  relieved 
the  accomplished  and  distressed  young  Midshipman  from 
his  agony. 

But  with  his  slender  force,  reduced  essentially  by  disease 
and  death,  Com.  Hopkins  bore  down  with  his  little  squad- 
ron for  N.  Providence.  Meetitfg  with  little  opposition,  he 
acquired  possession  of  the  island,  levied  a  contribution  up- 
on the  inhabitants,  and  brought  offa  great  amount  of  naval 
stores.  This  affair  will  not  be  particularly  mentioned  in 
this  place.  It  more  properly  belongs  to  the  biography  of 
Com.  Hopkins. 

Capt.  Biddle's  crew  became  sickly  with  the  disorders 
peculiar  to  the  West  Indies  ;  and,  when  ordered  to  return 
to  America,  he  had  scarcely  able  seamen  sufficient  to  navi- 
gate his  vessel. 

He  arrived  at  New  London,  (Conn.)  where  a  salubrious 
climate  and  the  urbanity  of  the  citizens,  restored  them  to 


COM.  NICHOLAS  BIDDLE.  58 

health,  and  rendered  them  fit  for  any  duty  they  should  be 
ordered  to  perform. 

The  officers  and  crew  of  the  Andrew  Doria  under  the 
discipline  ofCapt.  Biddle,  had  become  somewhat  familiar- 
ized with  the  principles  of  naval  tactics,  entirely  devoted 
to  their  commander,  and  ardent  in  the  cause  of  their  coun- 
try. 

He  refitted  his  brig  at  New  London  ;  and  soon  after  re- 
ceived the  orders  of  the  "  Marine  Committee"  of  Congress, 
(for  there  was  then  no  Navy  Department,)  to  proceed  to 
sea,  and  cruise  against  British  merchantmen  upon  the  coast 
of  Nezofoundland. 

He  eluded  the  numerous  British  cruisers  upon  the  Amer- 
ican coast  ;  and,  before  he  reached  his  destination,  captur- 
ed two  of  the  enemy's  transports,  containing  half  a  regiment 
of  Highland  troops,  to  reinforce  the  British  troops,  under 
the  perfidious  Gage.* 

This  was  a  most  seasonable  capture,  as  it  enabled  the 
government  to  make  exchanges  for  American  prisoners, 
and  to  ensure  better  treatment  to  them  before  exchanged. 

*  It  will  be  recollected  that  Gov.  Gage  pledged  himself  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Boston,  to  "let  the  people  go"  if  they  would  surrender  up  their 
arms.     It  is  thus  happily  touched  off  by  the  Hon.  John  Trumbull, 
in  his  inimitable  Hudibrastic  poem  "  M'Fingal." 
"  So  Gage  of  late  agreed  you  know, 
To  let  the  Boston  people  go  ; 
Yet  when  he  saw,  'gainst  troops  that  brav'd  him, 
They  were  the  only  guards  that  sav'd  him  ; 
Kept  off  that  Satan  of  a  Putnam, 
From  breaking  in  to  maul  and  mutt'n  him, 
He'd  too  much  wit  such  leagues  t'observe, 
And  shut  them  in  again  to  starve." 

Canto  I. 
9 


54  NAVAL  HEROES. 

It  served  another  purpose — to  enable  the  intrepid  Biddle 
to  compel  a  British  admiral  to  regard  the  right  of  war.  One 
of  his  Lieutenants,  Josiah,  an  excellent  officer,  had  been 
captured  in  a  prize  vessel,  despatched  by  Capt.  Biddle,  by 
a  British  frigate.  Capt.  Biddle  wrote  an  indignant  letter 
to  admiral  Howe  at  New  York,  remonstrating  against  the 
treatment  Lieut.  Josiah  received.  "  If,  sir,  you  see  fit  to 
mal-treat  a  noble  and  patriotic  young  officer,  whom  the  fate 
of  war  has  placed  in  your  possession,  rest  assured  the  law 
of  retaliation  will  be  resorted  to  by  me."  Amongst  hit 
prisoners,  he  had  the  son  of  an  English  nobleman  ;  and  con- 
sidering one  of  his  Lieutenants  as  equal  in  rank  to  any  no" 
bleman,  he  determined  that  he  should  feel  the  weight  of 
necessary  severity,  instead  of  inflicting  it  upon  a  common 
British  subject.  This  determination  was  worthy  of  this 
truly  noble  American  officer. 

Not  satisfied  with  this,  as  the  only  means  in  his  own  hands 
to  insure  the  good  treatment  of  his  Lieutenant,  he  addres- 
sed Congress  upon  the  subject. 

At  this  period  it  excites  not  only  astonishment,  but  in- 
dignation, that  the  officers  of  a  nation  which  then  claimed 
the  first  rank  amongst  the  nations  of  the  earth,  for  civiliza- 
tion and  Christianity, — that  her  Commons,  which  were  gra- 
ced by  a  Burke,  a  Fox,  and  a  Barre,  and  her  Peerage,  which 
contained  two  arch-bishops  and  twenty-four  bishops,  deco- 
rated with  the  sanctity  of  the  lawn,  and  lords  temporal  ro- 
bed in  the  ermine  of  justice,  should  have  been  guilty  of  bar- 
barity toward  prisoners  of  war,  taken  in  defending  the  dear- 
est rights  of  their  country.  The  enoTmity  of  it  was  in- 
creased from  the  consideration,  that  Britain  considered 
herself  all-powerful,  and  America  a$.  all-impotent ;  for  it  is 
one  of  the  attributes  of  real  greatness,  to  be  humane.     They 


COM.  NICHOLAS  BIDDLE.  55 

ought  to  have  remembered  the  sentiment  of  the  prince  of 
their  poets.  • 

"  O !  'tis  excellent  to  have  a  giant's  strength, 

But  tyrannous  to  use  it  like  a  giant." 
By  examining  the  Journal  of  the  "  Old  Congress"  it  will 
be  found  that  that  majestic  body  of  statesmen  would  readi- 
ly lend  all  their  aid  and  call  forth,  if  necessary,  all  their 
power,  to  avenge  the  injuries  which  a  single  individual  sus- 
tained. This  every  government  is  bound  to  do  ;  for  if  ru 
lers  will  be  tame  and  unmoved  spectators  of  cruelty  in 
flicted  upon  one  of  its  citizens,  the  whole  become  endanger 
ed.  The  same  nation  who  were  then  violating  the  rights 
of  civilized  warfare,  upon  the  person  of  Lieut.  Josiah,  owf 
their  boasted  habeas  corpus  act  to  the  injuries  which  an 
obscure  individual  suffered.  The  treatment  an  American, 
by  the  name  of  Meade  recently  sustained  from  the  govern- 
ment of  Spain,  and  the  decided  and  spirited  conduct  of  the 
American  minister,  in  regard  to  that  subject,  convinced  the 
Spanish  monarchy  that  every  citizen  of  our  Republic,  is 
ready  to  give  efficacy  to  the  declaration  of  a  Roman — "  Ne- 
mo me,  impune  lascessit"  (no  one  shall  injure  me  with  im- 
punity.) 

In  the  Journal  of  Congress,  August  7th  1776,  is  the  fol- 
lowing entry.—"  That  the  general  remonstrance  to  Lord 
Howe,  on  the  cruel  treatment  Lieut.  Josiah  has  met  with, 
of  which  the  Congress  have  received  undoubted  informa- 
tion, and  a  letter  from  Capt.  Nicholas  Biddle,  to  the  Ma- 
rine Committee,  was  laid  before  Congress  and  read — 
Whereupon,  Resolved  that  Gen.  Washington  be  directed 
to  propose  an  exchange  of  Lieut.  Josiah,  for  a  Lieutenant 
of  the  navy  of  Great  Britain."  Although  this  resolution 
was  passed  the  next  month  after  the  declaration  of  Ameri- 


5(5  NAVAL  HEROES. 

can  Independence — and  although  the  Confederation  was 
considered  by  its  vaunting  enemy,  little  stronger  than  a 
"  reed  shaken  by  the  wind,"  yet  such  a  proposition,  from 
such  a  body,  and  to  be  offered  by  such  a  man  as  George 
Washington,  awed  the  enemy  into  compliance,  and  the 
gallant  Lieut.  Josiah  was  restored  again  to  his  station  in  the 
little  marine  force  of  his  country. 

Doctor  Ramsay,  in  his  excellent  and  authentic  "  History 
of  the  American  Revolution'1''  thus  remarks.  "  The  American 
sailors,  when  captured  by  the  British,  suffered  more  than 
even  the  soldiers  which  fell  into  their  hands.  The  former 
were  confined  on  board  prison  ships.  They  were  crowded 
together  in  such  numbers,  and  their  accommodations  were 
so  wretched,  that  diseases  broke  out,  and  swept  them  off  in 
a  manner  that  was  sufficient  to  excite  compassion  in  breasts 
of  the  least  sensibility." — "  Eleven  thousand  persons  per- 
ished on  board  the  Jersey,  one  of  these  prison-ships." — 
"  On  many  of  these,  the  rites  of  sepulture  were  never  but 
imperfectly  performed." — This  is  the  language  of  history. 
Let  me  add,  that  within  a  few  years  past  the  whitened 
bones  of  these  gallant  ocean-warriors  laid  scattered  along 
upon  the  shores  of  Long  Island, — monuments  of  their  de- 
votion to  country,  and  of  the  Gothic  barbarism  of  Britain 
in  the  first  war.  Praise  to  a  preserving  God,  and  thanks 
to  our  energetic  countrymen,  in  the  Second  War,  Britons 
dared  not  thus  treat  American  soldiers  or  seamen. 

Amongst  a  great  variety  of  interesting  incidents  in  the 
War  of  the  Revolution,  many  of  which  are  but  little  known, 
and  generally  forgotten,  the  following  is  apposite  to  the 
present  subject.  It  ought  not  to  be  forgotten,  that  in  the 
early  part  of  that  sanguinary  contest,  American  prisoners 
were  denied  the  rights  of  prisoners  of  war.     Witness  the 


COM.  NICHOLAS  BIDDLE.  M 

treatment  of  the  gallant  youths,  Robert  and  Andrew  Jack- 
son ;  and  more  especially  of  Col.  Allen,  wafted  in  irons, 
across  the  Atlantic,  to  be  exhibited  in  London,  as  a  Rebel 
Colonel.  Witness  also,  the  incarceration  of  the  great  Hen- 
ry Laurens,  in  the  Tower  of  London.  Let  the  following 
morceau  be  read,  and  let  the  memory  of  the  Old  Congress 
be  venerated. 

"  A  memorial  having  been  presented  to  Congress,  from 
Lieut.  Christopher  Hale,  of  the  British  Navy,  praying  to 
be  exchanged,  and  to  have  leave  to  go  to  New  York  upon 
his  parole,  for  a  few  days,  to  procure  a  person  in  his  room, 
that  Assembly  resolved,  "  That  Mr.  Hale  be  informed,  that 
the  Prayer  of  his  Memorial  cannot  be  granted  until  Capt. 
Cunningham  is  released,  as  it  has  been  determined  that  he 
must  abide  the  fate  of  that  Officer." 

Capt.  Biddle,  in  his  little  brig,  now  went  on  "  conquer- 
ing and  to  conquer."  A  very  great  number  of  British 
storeships,  transports,  and  merchantmen,  with  munitions 
of  war  and  property  to  an  immense  amount,  were  captured 
by  him,  and  sent  into  American  ports. 

At  that  period,  when  the  country  was  impoverished  and 
constantly  impoverishing,  from  being  deprived  of  the  thri- 
ving and  prosperous  pursuits  of  husbandry,  commerce,  fish- 
ing, and  whaling,  such  acquisitions  were  of  more  conse- 
quence than  can  well  be  conceived  in  the  forty-seventh 
year  of  American  Independence. 

He  kept  constantly  at  sea  himself;  and,  from  time  to 
time,  despatched  his  officers  and  seamen  into  different  ports 
with  his  prizes  and  prisoners.  Many  of  the  prisoners  he 
took,  entered  cheerfully  into  his  service,  and,  in  this  way. 
he  kept  his  crew  good.  When  he  found  it  necessary  to 
land  in  a  port,  his  vessel  was  so  crowded  with  prisoners, 


58  NAVAL  HEROES. 

that,  for  some  days  before  landing,  he  remained  constantly 
upon  deck.  After  he  arrived,  and  inspected  his  muster- 
roll,  he  found  he  had  but  five  of  the  original  crew  he  had, 
when  he  sailed  from  New  London  !  ! 

While  Capt.  Biddle,  with  his  slender  means  was  thus 
making  an  impression  upon  the  enemy,  and  animating  his 
countrymen  upon  land  by  his  brilliant  success  upon  the 
ocean,  the  "  Marine  Committee"  were  preparing  for  him 
a  more  important  command.  A  frigate  of  32  guns  was  ra- 
pidly built,  and  called,  The  Randolph,  and  Capt.  Biddle 
was  appointed  to  the  command  of  it  at  the  commencement 
of  the  year  1777. 

His  ardent  and  restless  spirit  would  scarcely  give 'sleep 
to  his  eyes  or  slumber  to  his  eyelids,'  until  he  had  fitted 
the  frigate  for  sea.  Although  probably  much  inferior  to 
the  fine  frigates  of  her  class  which  now  belong  to  our  no- 
ble navy,  yet  she  was  probably  the  finest  ship  then  belong- 
ing to  America. 

Capt.  Biddle,  at  this  period  of  his  life,  might  have  reti- 
red to  enjoy  the  independence  he  had  acquired  by  his  va- 
lour. But  that  independence  which  the  fortunate  chil- 
dren of  wealth  display  in  splendid  equipage,  and  by  soaring 
abroad  like  the  gaudy  butterfly,  which  spreads  the  varie- 
gated wing  to  the  rays  of  a  summer's  sun,  was  littleness 
itself  in  s^uch  a  soul  as  guided  and  governed  the  actions  of 
Nicholas  Biddle.  He  was  an  advocate  for  that  independ- 
ence which  proceeds  from  self-government,  and  was  anx- 
ious to  exert  his  faculties,  and  if  necessary  to  lose  his  life, 
in  establishing  the  independence  of  his  native  country. 

At  that  dangerous  and  doubtful  period,  it  was  difficult  to 
obtain  American  seamen  to  enter  on  board  the  few  ships 
which  belonged  to  the  Republic.     But  the  Brirish  seamen 


COM.  NICHOLAS  BIDDLE.  59 

which  Capt.  Biddle  had  captured,  equally  regardless  of 
the  monarchy  under  which  they  were  born,  and  into  the 
service  of  which  they  were  daily  liable  to  be  impressed, 
as  they  were  for  the  Republic  which  was  striving  for  inde- 
penqence,  enlisted  under  Capt.  Biddle.  He  was  aware 
that  they  were  good  seamen,  but  he  had  good  reason  to 
doubt  their  fidelity.  They  were  mostly  composed  of  be- 
ings who  were  hired  to  die,  or  compelled  to  spill  their 
blood  in  supporting  and  defending  the  pageantry  of  royal- 
ty. They  considered  themselves  as  mere  "  food  for  pow- 
der," and  cared  little  in  what  cause  they  died.  But  the 
determined  Captain  was  resolved  to  put  to  sea,  and  once 
more  to  face  and  defy  the  enemies  of  his  country. 

He  sailed  from  Philadelphia  in  the  month  of  February, 
1777.  He  had  been  at  sea  but  a  few  days  before  he  dis- 
covered the  mutinous  and  perfidious  machinations  of  his 
crew.  The  English  seamen  entered  into  a  combination  to 
rise  upon  the  Captain,  his  officers,  and  the  American  sea- 
men— take  the  frigate  into  their  own  command,  and  pre- 
sent the  ship  and  crew  to  the  British  admiral,  or  become 
pirates.  They  possessed  the  physical  power  to  carry 
this  determination  into  effect.  It  required  all  the  energy 
and  intrepidity  of  Capt.  Biddle  and  his  officers  to  defeat 
this  nefarious  design.  Indeed,  it  is  upon  occasions  like 
this,  that  the  native  greatness  of  man  is  displayed.  To  bear 
a  ship  into  action,  with  an  equal  antagonist,  with  a  crew 
like  that  of  the  junior  Decatur,  whose  hearts  beat  in  uni- 
son with  that  of  their  commander,  is  pastime  and  pleasure, 
when  compared  with  the  danger  that  arises  from  disaffec- 
tion and  treachery.  Said  a  noble  Spartan — "  May  the 
god*  preserve  me  from  friends — my  enemies  \  am  always 
prepared  to  encounter."      The  disaffected  part  of  the 


60  NAVAL  HEROES. 

crew,  as  a  signal  for  rising,  were  to  give  three  cheers- 
rush  into  the  cabin — put  the  officers  in  irons,  and  assume 
the  command  of  the  frigate. 

The  noble,  the  fearless,  and  determined  Biddle,  re-acted 
the  scene  he  had  passed  through  at  the  prison,  when  he  re- 
took his  deserters.  His  presence  of  mind — his  thundering 
denunciations — his  consummate  and  wonderful  power  of 
commanding,  struck  in-tantaneous  terror  into  the  hearts 
of  the  numerous  host  that  opposed  him.  He  was,  indeed, 
a  host  of  himself.  The  awe-struck  mutineers  submissively 
returned  to  their  duty  ;  and  would  afterwards  as  soon  set 
Omnipotence  itself  at  defiance,  as  to  wink  an  eye-lid  in 
hostility  to  their  commander. 

No  sooner  had  he  restored  order  in  his  floating  garrison, 
than  he  had  to  endure  the  distressing  scene  of  beholding 
all  his  masts  go  by  the  board,  from  their  original  defects. 
He  put  into  Charleston,  S.  C.  to  refit.  Every  hour's  de- 
tention seemed  like  a  whole  calender  to  this  unsurpassed 
ocean  warrior.  The  means  of  refitting  a  dismasted  frigate 
in  1777,  were  next  to  nothing  to  what  they  are  in  1823,  at 
our  well  furnished  naval  depots.  Capt.  Biddle's  whole 
soul  was  entwined  around  the  cause  of  his  country  ;  and 
he  ardently  panted  to  be  constantly  facing  her  enemy. 
He  was  not  to  be  restrained  by  the  cold  and  icy  suggestions 
of  prudence,  from  venturing  all  his  temporal  possessions, 
and  his  life  too,  in  the  holy  cause  of  his  country,  which  he 
loved  better  than  he  did  himself.  He  was  lavish  to  excess, 
in  spending  his  blood  and  treasure  for  it. 

His  short  stay  at  Charleston,  excited  toward  him  the  ad- 
miration of  its  patriotic  citizens.  The  enemy  had  learned 
that  an  American  Frigate  had  been  to  sea,  and  they  were 
determined  to  add  it  to  the  Royal  Navy  of  Britain.     Capt. 


COM.  NICHOLAS  BIDDLE.  61 

Biddle  sailed  from  Charleston  with  the  patriotic  wishes 
and  fervent  prayers  of  every  true  American  for  his  success. 
The  third  day's  sail  brougnt  him  into  contact  with  four 
valuable  British  ships.  The  commander  of  one  of  them, 
the  True  Briton,  had  expressed  his  urgent  wishes  to  fall  in 
with  the  Randolph.  As  soon  as  he  recognized  the  ship, 
he  hove  to,  and  at  long  shot  commenced  the  action.  The 
fire  was  incessant,  although  ill  directed  from  the  True 
Briton. 

Capt.  Biddle  set  the  example,  which  has  so  successsful- 
ly  been  followed  by  the  modern  officers  of  our  navy,  of 
bearing  down  upon  the  enemy,  reserving  fire — coming  into 
close  action — and  settling  the  contest  at  once.  The  aston- 
ished and  vaunting  Briton,  at  the  moment  the  Randolph 
was  about  to  pour  in  her  first  broadside,  struck  his  flag, 
and  surrendered  his  ship  to  Capt.  Biddle. 

He  instantly  officered  and  manned  his  prize  ;  and,  with 
the  Randolph,  went  in  pursuit  of  the  other  vessels,  every 
one  of  which  he  captured.  The  citizens  of  Charleston  had 
hardly  expected  that  Capt.  Biddle  had  left  the  American 
coast,  before  he  gladdened  their  eyes  and  rejoiced  their 
hearts  with  the  sight  of  his  frigate  and  four  prizes  of  very 
great  value. 

At  that  time,  such  an  achievement,  and  such  an  acqui- 
sition, produced  perhaps  more  real  joy  than  the  more  re- 
cent achievements  of  our  matchless  navy.  It  was  but  sev- 
en days  from  the  time  Capt.  Biddle  sailed  from  Charleston 
before  he  entered  the  same  port  with  his  frigate  and  prizes. 
His  presence  diffused  animation  through  all  ranks ;  and  the 
possessors  of  wealth  readily  advanced  it  to  augment  his 
force.     Every  exertion  was  made  to  prepare  a  squadron 

for  Commodore  Biddle.     "  The  north  gave  up,  and  the 
10 


62  NAVAL  HEROES. 

south  kept  not  back,"  as  it  regarded  North  and  South  Car- 
olina. The  very  souls  of  the  people  were  devoted  to  the 
cause  of  their  country  ;  and  the  wonted  enjoyments  of  pri- 
vate luxuries,  and  the  more  splendid  display  of  glaring  and 
magnificent  equipage,  were  forgotten  in  the  cause  of  the 
Republic  which  must  have  sunken  into  the  degradation  of 
slavery,  had  it  not  risen  into  the  majesty  of  independence 
by  the  unparalleled  exertion  of  the  undaunted  spirits  of 
'76. 

Com.  Biddle's  reputation  stood  so  high  at  this  period, 
that  the  ardent  youth  of  South  Carolina  were  solicitous  to 
adventure  their  lives  under  his  command.  In  a  very  short 
time,  the  Commodore  raised  his  broad  pendant  upon  the 
Frigate  Randolph,*  and  had  in  his  squadron  the  ship  Gene- 
ral Moultrie,!  the  brigs  Fair  American  and  Polly, — and 

*  This  frigate  was  named  Randolph,  in  honour  of  Peyton  Randolph 
first  President  of  the  Old  Congress  under  the  confederation. 

f  This  ship  was  named  General  Moultrie,  in  honour  of  William 
Moultrie,  Maj.  Gen.  in  the  Revolutionary  army — the  defender  of  Sul- 
livan's island,  and  the  victor  at  Beaufort.  Lord  Montague,  ex-gover- 
nour  of  S.  Carolina,  offered  a  princely  bribe  to  Gen.  Moultrie,  as 
Gov.  Gage  did  to  Gen.  Putnam,  to  join  the  British  forces.  Although 
the  literary  acquirements  of  the  latter  general,  would  not  enable  him 
to  repel  the  audacious  insult  so  elegantly  as  the  former,  his  patriotic 
heart,  repelled  it  as  indignantly.  As  Gen.  Moultrie's  letter  is  in  my 
possession,  I  am  persuaded  the  reader  will  be  gratified  in  perusing  the 
noble  sentiments  of  a  warm  friend  of  the  exalted  Biddle. 

Haddrell's  Point,  March  13,  1781. 
My  Lord — 

*■'  I  reeeived  yoursthis  morning.  I  thank  you  for  the  wish  to  pro- 
mote my  advantage,  but  I  am  much  surprised  at  your  proposition.  I 
flattered  myself  I  stood  in  a  more  favourable  light  with  you.  I  shalj 
write  with  the  same  freedom  with  which  we  used  to  convers  e,  and 
doubt  not  you  will  receive  it  with  the  same  candour.  I  have  often 
heard  you  express  your  sentiments  respecting  this  unfortunate  war  ; 


COM.  NICHOLAS  BIDDLE.  63 

^loop  Notre  Dame.  The  Randolph  had  lost  one  of  her 
masts  by  a  stroke  of  lightning.    It  was  immediately  restored. 

when  you  thought  the  Americans  injured  ;  but  am  now  astonished  to 
find  you  take  an  active  part  against  them  ;  though  not  fighting  parti- 
cularly on  the  continent ;  yet  the  seducing  their  soldiers  away  to  en^ 
list  in  the  British  service,  is  nearly  similar. 

"  My  lord,  you  are  pleased  to  compliment  me  with  having  fought 
bravely  in  my  country's  cause,  for  many  years,  and,  in  your  opinion, 
fulfilled  the  duty  every  individual  owes  it ;  but  I  differ  widely  from 
you  in  thinking  that  I  have  discharged  my  duty  to  my  country,  while 
it  is  deluged  with  blood  and  overrun  by  British  troops,  who  exercise 
the  most  savage  cruelties.  When  I  entered  into  this  contest,  I  did  it 
with  the  most  mature  deliberation,  with  a  determined  resolution  to 
risk  my  life  and  fortune  in  the  cause.  The  hardships  I  have  gone 
through  I  look  upon  with  the  greatest  pleasure  and  honor  to  myself. 
I  shall  continue  to  go  on  as  I  have  begun,  that  my  example  may  en- 
courage the  youths  of  America,  to  stand  forth  in  defence  of  their 
rights  and  liberties.  You  call  upon  me  now,  and  tell  me  I  have  a 
fair  opening  of  quitting  that  service  with  honor  and  reputation  to 
myself,  by  going  with  you  to  Jamaica.  Good  God  !  is  it  possible 
that  such  an  idea  could  arise  in  the  breast  of  a  man  of  honor  ?  I  am 
sorry  you  should  imagine  I  have  so  little  regard  to  my  own  reputation, 
as  to  listen  to  such  dishonorable  proposals.  Would  you  wish  to  have 
that  man  honored  with  your  friendship,  play  the  traitor  I    Surely  not. 

"  You  say,  by  quitting  this  country  for  a  time  I  might  avoid  disa- 
greeable conversations,  and  might  return  at  my  own  leisure,  and  take 
possession  of  my  estates  for  myself  and  family  ;  but  you  have  forgot  to 
tell  me  how  I  could  get  rid  of  the  feelings  of  an  injured,  honest  heart, 
and  where  to  hide  myself  from  myself.  Could  I  be  guilty  of  so  much 
baseness,  I  should  hate  myself  and  shun  mankind.  This  would  be  a 
fatal  exchange  for  the  present  situation,  with  an  easy  and  approving 
conscience,  of  having  done  my  duty,  and  conducted  myself  as  a  man 
of  honor. 

"  My  lord,  I  am  sorry  to  observe,  that  I  feel  your  friendship  much 
abated,  or  you  would  not  endeavour  to  prevail  upon  me  to  act  so  base 
a  part.  You  earnestly  wish  you  could  bring  it  about,  as  you  think  it 
will  be  the  means  of  bringing  about  that  reconciliation  we  all  wish  for. 
J  wish  for  a  reconciliation  as  much  as  any  man,  but  only  upon  hon» 


64  NAVAL  HEROES. 

and  the  frigate  was  fitted  for  sea,  with  a  lightning  rod  on 
her  main-mast. 

orable  terms.  The  repossessing  of  my  estates  ;  the  offer  of  the  com- 
mand of  your  regiment,  and  the  honor  you  propose  of  serving  under 
me,  are  paltry  considerations  to  the  loss  of  my  reputation.  No,  not 
the  fee-simple  of  that  valuable  island  of  Jamaica,  should  induce  me 
to  part  with  my  integrity. 

"  My  lord,  as  you  have  made  one  proposal,  give  me  leave  to  make 
another,  which  will  be  more  honorable  to  us  both.  As  you  have  an 
interest  with  your  commanders,  I  would  ha'  e  you  propose  the  with- 
drawing the  British  troops  from  the  continent  of  America,  allowing  in- 
dependence, and  propose  a  peace.  This  being  done  I  will  use  my  in- 
terest with  my  commanders  to  accept  the  terms,  and  allow  Great 
Britain  a  free  trade  wi<h  America. 

"  My  brd,  I  could  make  one  more  proposal ;  but  my  situation  as  a 
prisoner,  circumscribes  me  within  certain  bounds.  I  must,  therefore, 
conclude  with  allowing  you  the  free  liberty  to  make  what  use  of  this 
you  may  think  proper.     Think  better  of  me. 

"  I  am  my  lord,  your  lordship's  most  humble  servant. 

Wm.  Moultrie." 

"  To  lord  Charles  Montague.    ( 

Can  the  present  generation  of  Americans,  at  this  remove  of  times 
contemplate  upon  the  firmness  of  Moultrie,  when  a  prisoner  of  war, 
and  of  Biddle,  his  youthful  friend,  without  the  highest  exultation,  min- 
gled with  the  deepest  veneration  ? 

Joseph  Reed,  was  secretary  and  aid  de  camp  to  Gen.  Washington, 
in  the  revolution,  and  afterwards  governour  of  Pennsylvania.  The 
Royal  Governour  Johnston,  assured  the  inflexible  patriot  "  That  ten 
thousand  pounds  sterling,  and  the  best  office  in  the  gift  of  the  crown 
in  America  should  be  at  his  disposal,  if  he  could  effect  a  reunion  of  the 
two  countries."  He  replied,  "  That  he  was  not  worth  purchasing  ; 
but  such  as  he  was,  the  king  of  Great  Britain  was  not  rich  enough  to 
do  it" 

A  London  paper,  (1780)  says,— "  The  following  were  the  terms 
that  were  offered  to  Gen.  Washington,  viz. — To  be  given  rank  in  the 
British  service  ;  a  landed  estate  in  England  purchased  for  him,  of 
70001.  a  year,  and  great  promotions  for  12  such  persons  as  he  should 
aaine." 


COM.  NICHOLAS  B1DDLE.  C5 

At  this  period  the  Continental  infantry  in  the  vicinity  of 
Charleston,  were  under  the  command  of  a  man,  whose 
name  is  now  associated  with  the  proudest  recollection  of 
our  countrymen, — a  man,  whose  talents,  science  and  pat- 
riotism has  added  vast  weight  to  the  character  of  Ameri- 
can greatness  ; — whose  acquirements  as  a  diplomatist  and 
statesman,  have  excited  the  undissemhled  admiration  of 
the  courts  of  St.  Cloud  and  St.  James — Charles  Cotes- 
wurth  Pinckney.  The  approbation  of  such  a  man  was  a 
volume  of  eulogy  in  favour  of  Com.  Biddle.  The  country 
at  that  time  had  nothing  like  a  well  organized  marine 
corps  ;  and  Gen.  Pinckney  offered  a  detachment  from  a  re- 
giment to  serve  in  the  squadron,  provided  the  men  would 
consent  to  change  their  service  from  soldiers  to  marines. 
Notwithstanding  the  perfect  devotion  of  the  regiment  to 
their  accomplished  commander,  a  competition  arose 
amongst  the  captains  and  subalterns  in  the  different  com* 
panies,  who  should  have  the  honour  of  entering  into  the 
more  dangerous  service  of  Com.  Biddle. 

These  noble  and  gallant  spirits  little  anticipated  the  aw- 
ful fate  that  was  shortly  to  await  them,  and  their  adored 
commander.  As  the  writer  approaches  toward  the  rela- 
tion of  the  direful  catastrophe,  he  sensibly  feels  his  incom- 
petency to  delineate  it. 

The  coast  of  S.  Carolina  was  infested  with  British  crui- 
sers, from  Seventy-fours  down  to  Schooners  ;  yet  Com.  Bid- 
dle rendezvoused  with  his  little  squadron  in  what  was  then 
called  "  Rebellion  Roads,"  toward  the  last  of  February. 

The  British  commanders,  in  order  to  decoy  him  into 
greater  danger,  left  the  coast  and  bore  away  for  the  West 
Indies.  Capt.  Biddle  resolved  to  carry  the  arms  of  Amer- 
ica, where  the  enemies  of  America  were  to  be  found  ;  and 


«6  NAVAL  HEROES. 

to  conduct  his  squadron  to  those  regions  where  he  could 
inflict  the  severest  injury  upon  the  enemy,  and  render  his 
country  the  most  essential  service. 

Let  not  the  reader  conclude  that  this  admired  and  la- 
mented commander,  had  that  daring  rashness  which  would 
carry  his  ships  and  crews  into  danger,  that  could  not  be  es- 
caped. Although  but  twenty-seven  years  of  age — although 
the  gristle  of  youth  had  but  just  ripened  into  the  bone  of 
manhood,  he  had  devoted  himself  with  such  assiduity  to  his 
profession,  and  had  seen  so  much  service,  that  he  had  ac- 
quired the  coolness  and  prudence  of  an  experienced  admi- 
ral. 

Upon  the  5th  March,  a  number  of  the  officers  of  the 
squadron,  dined  on  board  the  Randolph.  The  Commodore 
observed  to  them,  "  We  have  been  some  days  cruising 
here,  and  having  spoken  a  number  of  vessels,  some  of  them 
have  undoubtedly  given  information  of  us.  But  in  this 
ship,  I  think  myself  a  match  for  any  thing  floating,  that  car- 
ries her  guns  upon  one  deck."  He  captured  one  valuable 
ship  and  cargo,  and  sent  her  to  America. 

From  the  time  he  took  command  of  the  Andrew  Doria, 
to  this  period  of  his  life,  this  dauntless  and  vigilant  naviga- 
tor and  tactician,  had  probably  given  more  annoyance  to 
British  commerce,  and  aid  to  his  country  than  any  other  of 
the  intrepid  American  Heroes  upon  the  ocean.  During  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  time,  his  native  city  and  the  ad- 
joining country,  was  in  the  hands  of  an  enemy  whose  "  ten- 
der mercies  are  cruelties."  To  adopt  the  language  of  the 
patiiotick  Humphreys,  "  Add  to  the  black  catalogue  of 
provocations, — their  insatiable  rapacity  in  plundering — 
thrir  libidinous  brutality  in  violating  the  chastity  of  the  fe- 
male sex — their  more  than  Gothic  rage  in  defacing  private 


COM.  NICHOLAS  BIDDLE.  07 

writings,  public  records,  libraries  of  learning — dwellings  of 
individuals — edifices  of  education,  and  temples  of  the  Deity 
— together  with  their  insufferable  ferocity,  unprecedented 
indeed  among  civilized  nations,  in  murdering  on  the  field 
of  battle,  the  wounded  while  begging  for  mercy" — and 
"carrying  their  malice  beyond  death  itself;  by  denying  the 
decent  rights  of  sepulture  to  the  dead."  Such  is  the  just 
and  pathetic  description  of  a  young  and  gallant  officer,  who 
was  then  encountering  the  enemies  of  the  rising  Republic, 
upon  land,  as  Biddle  was  upon  the  ocean.  But  mark  the 
difference  of  the  conduct  of  this  noble  American,  when  he 
had  captured  a  king's  ship,  or  a  merchantman.  His  hu- 
mane conduct  made  prisoners  forget  that  they  were  in  the 
possession  of  an  enemy  ;  and  although  their  property  had 
fallen  a  sacrifice  to  the  depredations  of  war,  the  magnani- 
mous Commodore  shielded  them  from  individual  distress; 
and  restored  to  them  every  thing  needed,  for  personal  ne- 
cessity and  convenience. 

Although  American  Naval  Officers  have  always  beett 
distinguished  for  a  dignified  deportment  and  feeling  human- 
ity, to  a  vanquished  enemy,  yet  the  example  set  by  Biddle 
in  the  First,  may  well  be  supposed  to  have  had  much  influ 
ence  upon  officers  in  the  Second  war  with  Britain. 

But  as  if"  death  loves  a  shining  mark"  and  designates 
his  sudden  victims  amongst  the  most  brilliant  ornaments  of 
dying  man,  this  favourite  of  his  then  warring  and  distressed 
country — the  delight  of  his  friends,  and  the  admiration  of 
his  enemies  was,  by  the  most  appalling,  sudden,  and  terri 
fie  shock  of  warfare,  to  be  torn  from  time  into  eternity. 

The  7th  of  March  1 778,  was  the  day  upon  which  this  ad- 
mired Officer,  and  one  of  the  most  gallant  Crews  of  thai 
age,  were  to  be  lost  to  their  friends  and  country. 


tits  NAVAL  HEROES. 

At  3  P.  M.  a  sail,  at  the  windward,  was  descried  frorii 
the  Randolph.  A  signal  being  made  from  the  frigate,  the 
squadron  hauled  upon  a  wind,  to  speak  the  strange  sail. 
As  the  sail  neared  the  Randolph  and  came  directly  before 
the  wind,  she  had  the  appearance  of  a  heavy  sloop,*  with 
only  a  square-sail  set.  It  was  not  until  4  P.  M.  that  she 
was  discovered  to  be  a  ship.  At  about  7  P.  M.  the  Ran- 
dolph had  the  windward,  the  General  Moultrie  being  to 
the  leeward,  when  the  ship  fired  ahead  of  the  General 
Moultrie  and  hailed  her.  Her  answer  was,  "  The  Polly 
from  New  York,"  (then  in  possession  of  the  British  forces.) 
The  ship  suddenly  hauled  her  wind  and  hailed  the  Ran- 
dolph. The  sail  was  H.  B.  Majesty's  ship  of  the  line  Yar- 
mouth, Capt.  Vincent,  of  sixty-four  guns. 

According  to  the  opinion  of  the  most  scientific  and  ex- 
perienced naval  officers,  the  Yarmouth  was  a  fair  and 
equal  match  for  three  ships  of  the  rate  of  the  Randolph. t 
As  she  ranged  along  side  Com.  Biddle's  ship,  an  English 
lieutenant  exultingly  exclaimed,  "  The  Randolph!  the  Ran- 
dolph /"• — and  instantly  poured  into  her  a  full  broadside. 
The  fire  was  returned  from  the  Randolph,  and  the  little 
Moultrie,  with  the  utmost  rapidity  ;  and,  from  the  disparity 
of  force,  with  astonishing  effect.  The  night  was  excessive- 
ly dark ;  the  Yarmouth  shot  ahead  of  the  Randolph,  and 
brought  her  between  that  ship  and  the  Moultrie.  One 
broadside  from  the  last  mentioned  ship,  in  the  hottest  of  the 

*  To  a  landsman,  like  the  writer,  this  would  appear  improbable ; 
but  I  have  been  assured  by  accomplished  seamen,  that  this  deception 
is  by  no  meaus  unusual. 

f  The  reader  is  referred  to  the  report  of  Com.  Charles  Stewart 
of  the  American  navy,  made  to  the  department  of  the  navy  in  1812,  in 
support  of  this  position;  which  was  confirmed  by  Captains  Hull  and 
Morris.  Mr.  Secretary  Hamilton  expressly  alludes  to  the  battle  of 
the  Randolph  and  the  Yarmouth. 


COM.  NICHOLAS  BIDDLE.  *9 

action,  through  mistake  went  directly  into  the  Randolph, 
the  moment  Com.  Biddle  was  wounded  dangerously  in  the 
thigh  ;  and  one  of  the  survivors  of  the  crew  conjectured 
the  wound  was  received  from  that  fire. 

And  here,  another  example  was  set  by  the  dauntless  Bid- 
die,  which,  to  the  admiration  of  Americans,  and  astonish- 
ment of  the  world,  seems  to  have  been  universally  follow- 
ed by  the  modern  heroes  of  our  navy — never  to  leave  the 
deck  in  consequence  of  a  wound,  however  severe.  After 
the  Commodore  fell,  and  they  were  about  to  carry  him  be- 
low, he  exclaimed  with  a  voice  which  was  almost  like  a 
voice  from  the  tomb — "  Bring  me  a  chair  ;  carry  me  for- 
ward ;  and  there  the  surgeon  will  dress  my  wound." — 
While  this  painful  operation  was  performing,  he  animating 
the  crew,  the  Randolph  firing  three  broadsides  to  the 
Yarmouth's  one  ;  while  the  thunder  of  an  hundred  can- 
non reverberated  over  the  ocean  ;  while  the  vivid  flashes 
of  three  armed  vessels  increased  the  horrors  of  the  sur- 
rounding darkness,  the  Randolph  was  blown  into  atoms, 
and  the  mangled  fragments  of  the  whole  crew,  (excepting 
four)  consisting  of  about  three  hundred  and  twenty  gallant 
and  patriotic  Americans,  fell  sudden  victims  to  their  devo- 
tion for  the  cause  of  their  country. 

Doct.  Ramsay  in  his  admirable  history  of  the  American 
Revolution,  very  briefly  alludes  to  this  disastrous  event, 
and  says  :  "  Four  men  only  were  saved,  upon  a  piece  of 
her  wreck.  These  had  subsisted  for  four  days  on  nothing 
but  rain  water,  which  they  sucked  from  a  piece  of  blanket." 
It  is  with  real  pleasure  I  record,  as  one  instance  of  British 
humanity,  that  upon  the  5th  day  of  their  sufferings,  Capt. 
Vincent  of  the  Yarmouth,  suspended  a  chase  to  rescue 

n 


70  NAVAL  HEROES, 

these  despairing  Americans  from  certain  death,  and  restor- 
ed them  to  their  country. 

Although  the  naval  heroes  of  the  revolution  are  but  sel- 
dom mentioned  in  the  histories  of  that  sanguinary  contest, 
yet  Doct.  Ramsay  has  left  upon  his  record  the  following 
testimony  of  the  merits  of  this  justly  admired  hero  :  "  Capt. 
Biddle,  who  perished  on  board  the  Randolph,  was  univer 
sally  lamented.  He  was  in  the  prime  of  life  ;  and  had  ex- 
cited high  expectations  of  future  usefulness  to  his  countn 
as  a  bold  and  skilful  naval  officer." 

The  consternation  produced  by  this  disaster  can  neither 
be  imagined  nor  described  by  one  who  was  not  a  witness- 
to  it.  The  Yarmouth  and  Randolph  were  in  such  close  ac- 
tion, that  the  Fair  American  concluded  it  to  be  the  former 
that  blew  up,  and  her  Captain,  (Morgan)  hailed  her  to  in- 
quire after  Com.  Biddle,  knowing  him  to  have  been  wound- 
ed. Alas!  he,  and  also  his  valiant  crew,  were  insensible  to 
the  solicitude  of  the  remaining  part  of  the  squadron,  which 
but  a  few  minutes  before,  he  so  gallantly  commanded.  The 
Yarmouth  was  in  a  condition  so  shattered  that  Capt.  Vin- 
cent could  not  capture  either  of  the  little  vessels  which 
were  near  her,  and  they  all  effected  their  escape. 

The  explosion  of  an  armed  vessel,  with  a  large  maga- 
zine of  powder,  is  universally  allowed  to  be  one  of  the  most 
awfully  solemn' and  tremendously  horrid  scenes  that  can  be 
presented  to  the  eye  of  man.  The  mind  of  the  reader  of 
these imperfectsketches is  almost irrisistibly  hurried  forward 
from  the  gloomy  catastrophe  of  the  7th  of  March  1778,  to 
the  no  less  horrid  one  of  Sept.  4th  1 804,  when  the  gallant 
Somers,  Wadsworth  and  Israel  became  victims  in  chas- 
tfsing  a  barbarous  foe,  as  the  gallant  Biddle  and  his  asso- 
ciates did  in  defending  his  country  against  a  Christian  ene- 


COM.  NICHOLAS  BIDDLE.  71 

my.  From  the  very  nature  of  such  catastrophes,  it  is  im» 
possible  to  develope  the  causes  of  them.  Whether  they 
are  occasioned  by  the  inattention  of  the  crew,  or  the  acci- 
dents occasioned  in  a  close  and  furious  engagement,  can 
scarcely  ever  be  determined. 

Thus  lived,  and  thus  died  Nicholas  Biddle,  one  ofthe 
early  champions  of  American  Independence.  His  prema- 
ture death  deprived  him  of  the  honours  and  rewards  of  a 
grateful,  protected,  and  Independent  Republic,  and  the  en- 
joyment ofthe  opulence  which  he  had  acquired  by  his  va- 
lour. But  even  these  enjoyments  are  trifling  and  evanes- 
cent, when  compared  to  that  glory  which  descends  to  late 
posterity.  It  was  for  this  glory  that  the  immortalized  Bid- 
die  toiled,  fought,  bled,  and  died  for  his  beloved  country. 
Let  the  ardent  and  rising  youth  ofthe  Republic  ponder  up- 
on the  example  of  this  young  and  exalted  hero  ;  and  when 
their  country  shall  again  be  called  to  defend  the  independ- 
ence acquired  by  the  heroes  of  the  Revolution,  and  secur- 
ed by  the  war  of  1812,  may  they  emulate  his  virtues  aund 
patriotism ;  and  like  him,  and  Biddle  the  younger,  ac- 
quire fame  which  will  descend  to  the  remotest  posterity. 

CHARACTER  OF  NICHOLAS  BIDDLE. 

Nicholas  Biddle  was  born  at  a  period  of  the  world 
pregnant  with  the  most  important  events-,  and  was  pecu- 
liarly adapted  for  a  distinguished  actor  in  them.  Ever 
since  the  discovery  of  the  Magnetic  Needle  enabled  man 
to  traverse  oceans  from  the  equator  to  the  arctic  and 
antarctic  circles,  the  watery  element  has  been  the  fruitful 
nursery  of  unsurpassed  heroes.  But  thirteen  years  had 
bloomed  the  cheek  of  Biddle,  when  he  found  his  "  home 


72  NAVAL  HEROES, 

upon  the  deep ;"  but  early  scenes  of  danger,  sufferings, 
and  miraculous  preservations,  soon  converted  the  sailor 
boy,  to  the  manly  seaman.  Sufferings  endured  and  dan- 
gers escaped,  so  far  from  dissuading,  rather  stimulated  him 
to  one  deed  of  noble  daring  after  another. 

In  early  life,  he  became  a  skilful  navigator,  and  well 
versed  in  commercial  pursuits.  But  its  dull  routine  was 
irksome  to  his  ardent  and  aspiring  mind.»  His  manly  qual- 
ifications procured  for  him  a  midshipman's  warrant  in  the 
Royal  Navy  of  Britain  ;  and  he  was  in  full  prospect  of  ra- 
pid advancement.  He  was  thus  early  initiated  into  the 
science  of  naval  tactics,  and  made  that  science  familiar  by 
practical  knowledge.  It  happened  to  be  a  period  of  peace 
with  almost  perpetually  warring  Britain,  and  Biddle  had 
no  opportunity  then,  to  face  an  enemy. 

In  Horatio  Nelson,  Biddle  found  a  spirit  congenial 
with  his  own ;  and  both  became  cockswains  in  Mulgrave's 
renowned  voyage  of  discovery  towards  the  north  pole. — 
Stupendous  mountains  of  ice,  wafted  upon  billows  moun- 
tain high,  presented  the  ocean  to  the  view  of  the  lieutenant, 
acting  as  cockswain,  in  all  its  majestic  awful,  and  destructive 
grandeur.  While  Nelson  was  encountering  the  snow- 
white  bear,  Biddle,  encompassed  with  frowning  cliffs  of  ice, 
was  awaiting  the  awful  crush  which  was  threatening  mo- 
mently to  send  the  ship  and  crew  to  the  bottom.  But  he 
returned  to  England  with  Nelson  and  both  became  favor- 
ites with  the  proud  admiralty  of  Britain,  the  modern  Car- 
thage. 

Notwithstanding  he  had  become  familiar  with  the  im- 
measurable power  of  the  British  marine — notwithstanding 
he  was  making  rapid  strides  on  the  lofty  waves  of  promo- 
tion with  his  ship-mate  Nelson — notwithstanding  the  shi- 


COM.  NICHOLAS  B1DDLE.  73 

lung  orders  of  knighthood,  and  the  "blushing  honours"  of 
nobility  were  within  the  reach  of  this  ardent  aspirant  for 
honourable  fame — he  frowned  indignantly  upon  a  power- 
ful monarchy  which  was  about  to  let  fall  the  uplifted  arm 
of  vengeance  upon  the  land  of  his  birth.  At  a  time  when 
the  menaces  of  the  House  of  Brunswick  awed,  and  the  pro- 
mised honours  and  gold  of  Britain  bought,  hordes  of  Ameri- 
can loyalists  and  tories — Biddle  was  above  corruption — 
above  price.  The  bank  of  England,  nor  that  over  which 
his  respected  connexion  presides,  never  had  gold  enough 
in  their  vaults  to  buy  him. 

He  re- crossed  the  Atlantic  whose  waves  were  soon  to 
roll  him  forth  as  a  warring  champion  against  the  "  king 
and  country"  in  whose  service  he  commenced  his  short 
and  brilliant  career  of  naval  glory.  With  a  diminutive 
force,  suddenly  fitted  out  by  the  almost  destitute,  infant 
states,  he  dashed  forth  like  a  rude  and  fearless  intruder 
upon  the  imperious  "  Ocean  Queen,"  and  her  commerce 
instantly  felt  and  feared  his  presence. 

The  profound  judgment  and  deep  penetration  of  the  Old 
Congres,  placed  the  dauntless  Biddle  in  command  of  a 
squadron.  His  broad  pendant  upon  the  Randolph  waved 
defiance  to  any  equal  hostile  force  upon  the  ocean.  Such 
was  the  celerity  with  which  he  moved  and  the  number  of 
prizes  that  he  captured,  that  his  ship  was  singled  out  as  a 
victim  to  British  prowess.  The  fate  of  naval  warfare  for- 
ced him  into  an  awfully  unequal  contest.  The  powerful 
foe,  of  treble  force,  descried  the  devoted  ship,  while  yet 
the  light  of  heaven  directed  his  unerring  course  ;  and  when 
sable  night  enveloped  the  troubled  deep  in  horrid  gloom 
and  rendered  "  darkness  visible,"  the  vaunting  enemy,  sure 
of  victory,  vomited  forth  the  thick  messengers  of  death  upon 


74  NAVAL  HEROES. 

the  Randolph.  Biddle,  cool,  collected,  animated  and 
fearless,  with  blood  gushing  from  wounds,  animating  hie 
comrades,  and  defying  the  enemy  whom  he  could  not  es- 
cape, breasted  the  tremendous  shock.  Amidst  the  roar  of 
an  hundred  cannon,  and  a  shower  of  reddened  balls,  the  in- 
discribable  catastrophe  of  an  exploding  war-ship,  hurled 
him  and  his  unrivalled  associates  from  temporal  warfare  to 
eternal  peace,  in  a  brilliant  flame  of  blazing  glory.  Thus 
did  the  heroic,  the  patriotic,  the  exalted  Biddle,  in  the 
bloom  of  life,  in  heaven-approving  warfare,  give  his  man- 
gled corse  to  the  deep — his  immortal  spirit  to  the  God  of 
battles,  and  his  imperishable  fame  to  the  Republic. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

OF 

JOHN  PAUL  JONES, 

COMMODORE  AND  POST-CAPTAIN 
IN  THE 

CONTINENTAL  NAVY, 

IN  THE  WAR  OF  THE  REVOLUTION. 


His  Life  and  Character  as  drawn  by  a  British  Biographer Early 

incidents  of  his  life.. ..Enters  a  slave  ship.. ..Slave  Trade. ...Goes  to 
service  at  the  Earl  of  Selkirk's,  and  is  discharged. ...Becomes  c 
"  Smug,"  gets  married,  has  the  hypo,  and  leaves  his  wife. ...Be- 
comes the  "  Prince  of  smugglers1'..., Goes  to  France,  gets  married 
again,  plays  the  gentleman  landlord,  "  runs  out,"  and  again  "  sets 
up  business"  as  a  grand  smuggler,  and  afterwards  as  a  merchant. 
....Gains  wealth,  goes  to  London,  dashes  and  gambles,  and  "comes 
upon  the  world".... Smuggles  again.... Makes  a  voyage  to  America, 
and  assumes  a  new  and  decided  character.. ..He  is  employed  by 
Congress  upon  a  secret  expedition  to  England.. ..Accomplishes  his 
object,  and  returns  to  America.... He  is  appointed  to  the  command 
of  a  Continental  ship,  and  successfully  assails  British  merchantmen 
....He  joins  Com.  Hopkins'  squadron  as  commander  of  the  Alfred, 
distinguishes  himself  in  the  capture  of  the  British  island  of  New- 
Providence. ...Upon  his  return  takes  command  of  the  Providence, 
of  12  guns,  in  which  he  convoys  vessels  and  transports He  re- 
ceives the  first  Captain's  commission  after  the4  h  of  July,  1776.... 
Capt.  Jones  sails  again  in  the  Providence,  is  encountered  by  the 
frigate  Solebay  of  30  guns ;  takes  valuable  prizes  ;  sails  for  Nova 
Scotia;  is  attacked  by  the  Milford  of  32  guns  ;  escapes;  effects  a 
landing;  destroys  fisheries ;  takes  17  prizes,  and  returns. ...He  is 
appointed  to  a  squadron... .Com.  Jones  sails  in  the  Alfred;  takes 
the  rich  transport  Mellish,  three  prizes,  and  a  Liverpool  privateer 
of  16  guns.... Is  again  attacked  by  the  Milford;  escapes  with  his 
prizes  to  Boston.... Receives  a  vote  of  thanks  from  Congress.. ..He 
takes  command  of  the  Ranger,  of  18  guns  ;  sails  for  France  ;  takes 
numerous  prizes;  announces  the  defeat  of  Burgoyne.... Repairs  to 
Paris,  returns  to  the  Ranger,  and  receives  the  first  salute  to  the 
American  Flag.. ..Enters  Brest,  is  saluted  by  Count  D'Orvilliers... 
He  lands  at  Whitehaven,  carries  the  fort,  spikes  40  cannon,  and 
returns  on  board.. ..He  visits  his  father.. ..raptures  the  Drake  of  20 
guns;  enters  Brest,  and  visits  the  court  of  Louis  XVI.. .Com 
Jones  sails  in  a  squadron  of  five  vessels,  on  board  the  Good  Mao 


16  NAVAL  HEROES. 

Richard,  of  40  guns. ...Desperate  engagement  with  the  Serapis,  44. 
....His  official  account.... Particulars.... Alarm  excited.. ..Jones  ap- 
plauded....Sails  to  America  in  the  Ariel,  of  20  guns.. ..Takes  the 
Triumph  of  20  guns.. ..Arrives  in  America.... Retires  to  Kentucky, 
and  there  dies. ...His  Character. 

The  naval  hero  now  to  be  introduced  to  the  reader,  it 
a  sort  of  phenomenon  in  human  nature.  He  was  an  ano- 
maly in  the  human  character.  Born  within  the  dominions 
of  Britain,  at  a  period  when  his  native  kingdom  was  stri- 
ding on  from  conquest  to  conquest — from  usurpation  to 
usurpation,  he  caught  the  adventurous  spirit  of  his  coun- 
trymen, and  seemed  in  his  own  character,  to  have  revived 
the  ancient  spirit  of  chivalry.  His  life  has  been  sketched 
by  one  of  his  own  countrymen,  with  that  malignant  asper- 
ity which  characterizes  the  writers  of  that  country,  when 
treating  of  the  daring  spirits  who  espoused  the  cause  of 
America  in  the  unparalleled  war  of  the  revolution.  In 
order  to  cast  a  shade  over  his  wonderful  achievements  in 
that  contest  between  the  rectitude  of  weakness  and  the 
usurpation  of  power,  they  have  endeavoured  to  blast  his 
fame,  by  attributing  to  him  the  most  infamous  and  detest- 
able vices. 

While  it  is  readily  admitted  that  it  is  the  business  and 
duty  of  the  biographer  to  give  a  faithful  portrait  of  the 
character  delineated,  yet,  it  must  also  be  admitted,  that 
the  eccentricities,  the  irregularities,  and  the  aberrations  of 
untutored  judgment  and  misguided  passions,  in  the  early 
period  of  life,  ought  not  to  be  glaringly  painted  for  the 
purpose  of  tarnishing  the  fame  of  mature  manhood.  It  is 
unhesitatingly  asserted  that  almost  without  exception,  the 
private  lives  of  the  most  distinguished  ornaments  of  human 
nature  are  not  without  some  blemishes.  But  when  a  man 
has  become  a  benefactor  to  his  country  in  the  state,  the 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  77 

church,  the  army,  the  navy,  or  in  the  walks  of  literature, 
why  should  the  just  admiration  of  the  world  be  diminished 
by  publishing  his  little,  private  foibles  ?  One  of  the  biog- 
raphers of  Nelson  carries  his  enraptured  readers  along 
through  the  life  of  that  wonderful  man  from  the  days  of 
boyhood,  when  he  encountered  a  bear  in  the  polar  re- 
gions, until,  in  the  full  fruition  of  glory,  he  fell  at  Trafal- 
gar. Another  biographer  of  the  same  naval  hero,  makes 
the  reader  almost  despise  him,  because  he  makes  him  a 
victim  to  the  fascinating  charms  of  Lady  Hamilton.  But, 
without  saying  more  by  way  of  introduction  to  the  Life 
of  John  Paul  Jones,  and  as  perhaps  too  much  has  been 
already  said,  I  will  proceed  in  a  brief  sketch  of  his  event- 
ful life. 

He  wasjsorn  at  Dumfries,  in  Scotland,  in  the  month  of 
June,  1748,  two  years  before  his  associate  in  war,  Nicho- 
las Biddle.  His  parents  were  in  what  is  called,  the  hum- 
blest grade  of  life,  but  which,  in  reality,  is  the  most  exalt- 
ed— tillers  of  the  earth.  They  were  amongst  the  peasant- 
ry of  Scotland,  so  renowned  for  their  sobriety,  industry, 
intelligence,  and  devotion.  Like  Robert  Burns,  Jones, 
from  the  circumstances  in  which  he  was  born,  seemed  to 
be  destined  for  the  useful,  although  dull  and  unvarying 
scenes  of  a  peasant's  life.  But  young  Jones  possessed  that 
restlessness  of  spirit — that  inquietude — that  insatiable  de- 
sire to  accomplish  something  beyond  the  highest  achieve- 
ments of  the  comrades  with  whom  he  was  associated,  that 
he  could  not  be  limited  to  their  dull  pursuits.  He  would 
neither  be  chained  down  to  the  business  of  a  hewer  of 
wood,  a  carrier  of  water,  a  heaver  of  coal,  a  thresher  of 
oats  and  barley,  or  a  dresser  of  flax. 

It  was  the  misfortune  of  young  Jones,  that  the  first  ad- 
12 


78  NAVAL  HEROES. 

venture  he  made  beyond  the  humble  pursuits  of  domestic 
life,  was  the  most  detestable  of  all  pursuits — the  slave  trade. 
That  wicked,  that  infamous,  that  infernal  and  diabolical 
traffick,  above  all  others,  is  most  directly  calculated  to  di- 
vest the  human  breast  of  every  exalted  sentiment,  and  of 
every  moral  and  religious  principle.  The  slave  dealer 
unites  in  his  own  character,  the  murderer,  the  robber,  the 
ravisher,  and  the  thief.  He  directly  or  indirectly  violates 
the  precepts  of  the  whole  decalogue.  The  Law  that  came 
by  Moses,  and  the  Grace  that  came  by  the  Redeemer,  are 
equally  broken  and  defied  by  the  slave  dealer.  But  the 
anathemas  of  angels  and  of  men  against  these  u  devils  in- 
carnate," must  be  omitted,  to  remark,  that  Jones  acquired 
a  cruelty  and  ferocity  of  temper  in  the  first  and  only  voy- 
age he  made  to  Guinea.  The  natural  humanity  and  mag- 
nanimity of  his  heart  was  tarnished  by  this  horrid  traffick, 
but  it  was  subsequently  ameliorated  by  association  with 
humane  and  dignified  Americans. 

After  his  return  to  Scotland  the  Earl  of  Selkirk,  an  ex- 
cellent Scots  nobleman,  received  Jones  under  his  protec- 
tion ;  but  he  proved  to  his  patron,  as  Savage  did  to  Lord 
Tyrconnel,  too  turbulent,  too  boisterous,  too  regardless  of 
"  the  method  of  regular  life,"  to  be  endured  in  a  mansion 
where  every  thing  was  to  "  be  done  decently  and  in  order." 

He  was  turned  loose  and  destitute  into  the  world,  which 
is  but  little  disposed  to  espouse  the  cause  of  such  a  being. 
From  the  whole  tenor  of  Jones'  life,  it  may  be  inferred 
that  he  could  not  endure  restraint,  or  submit  to  authority. 
He  aspired  to  be  his  own  commander  and  to  command  oth- 
ers. He  seemed  to  prefer  to  tall  by  his  own  directions, 
than  to  stand  by  the  guidance  of  others,  and — 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JOKES.  79 

•  StroAg  as  necessity,  to  fight  Ins  way, 
Struggle  with  fate,  and  brighten  into  day." 

An  opportunity  presented  itself,  in  joining  a  gang  of 
smugglers.  A  better  i4  Smug,"  than  Jones,  could  not  be 
found.  He  was  made  for  that  business,  and  the  hazardous 
business  seemed  to  be  calculated  for  him.  But  he  had  no 
idea  of  acting  in  a  subordinate  station  ;  and  the Jhardy  smug- 
glers would  not  consent  to  be  commanded  by  a  )oung  des- 
perado. Jones  left  them  in  disgust,  and  once  more  "  came 
upon  the  world  ;"  and  after  leading  a  vagabond  sort  of  life 
for  a  time,  he  entered  on  board  a  Sunderland  brig,  which 
was  a  regular  trader.  He  devoted  himself  with  the  utmost 
assiduity  to  his  business,  and  shortly  made  himself  an  ac- 
complished navigator  and  seaman.  By  this  pursuit  he  be- 
came perfectly  well  acquainted  with  the  coast  which  was 
afterwards  to  become  the  theatre  of  his  unequalled  exploits, 
and  imperishable  glory. 

From  this  brig  he  was  impressed  on  board  a  man  of  war. 
"  The  floating  dungeons"  of  the  British  navy  almost  invari- 
ably secure  impressed  seamen  for  life,  unless  the  admiralty 
discharge  them.  But  as  soon  as  Jones  had  acquired  a 
pretty  competent  knowledge  of  naval  tactics,  he  took  his 
own  time  and  manner  to  be  discharged,  i.  e.  by  desertion. 
Fear  of  the  yard  arm,  was  probably  the  occasion  of  Jones' 
desperate  fighting  in  his  subsequent  life. 

At  this  period,  Jones  "  took  to  himself  a  wife,"  and  a 
fortune  of  twelve  hundred  dollars.  At  this  age  and  in  this 
country,  this  sum  would  excite  a  smile  when  speaking  of 
"  fortune."  But  at  that  age,  in  Scotland,  it  amounted  to 
an  independence. 

To  such  a  character  as  Jones,  the  honey-moon  is  gene- 
rally of  short  duration,   and  such  a  sum  might  readily  be 


80  NAVAL  HEROES. 

squandered.  Notwithstanding  the  flowing  representations 
of  hymeneal  joys,  and  domestic  felicity,  they  were  entirely 
too  insipid  for  the  romantic  and  adventurous  Jones.  He 
felt  that  inquietude  which  the  uninteresting  and  dull  routine 
of  regulated  life  produces  in  the  mind  of  an  ardent  spirit. 
He  experienced  that  feeling  which  the  French  call  ennui — 
which  equally  defies  translation  and  description.  Ameri- 
cans call  it  hypo,  and  whoever  is  afflicted  with  this  non- 
descript in  the  long  catalogue  of  the  "  miseries  of  human 
life,"  may  well  justify  Jones  in  striving  to  tear  himself  away 
from  this  paralyzing  incubus. 

His  former  companions,  with  his  aid,  purchased  a  stout 
vessel,  and  Jones  became  her  commander.  He  now  filled 
a  station  which  filled  his  desires.  The  marauders  upon 
the  coast  of  Scotland  and  Ireland,  at  this  period,  were  nu- 
merous. Captain  Jones  was  not  deterred,  from  any  con- 
scientious scruples  from  pursuing  a  business  which  others 
pursued.  He  was  a  child  of  fortune  ;  and,  in  the  language 
of  In?  eccentric  countryman,  he  was  determined  to  follow 
his  advice  in  his  epistle  to  a  young  friend. 

"  To  catch  dame  fortune's  golden  smile, 

"  Assiduous  wait  upon  her." — 

"  And  gather  gear  by  ev'ry  wile, — 

*  *  *  *  * 

Like  a  comet,  his  eccentric  course  defied  calculation. 
He  suddenly  acquired  a  considerable  amount  of  wealth, 
and  not  wishing  to  return  to  the  "  dull  pursuits  of  civil  life" 
amongst  the  virtuous  peasantry  of  Scotland,  he  landed  in 
France,  at  the  port  of  Boulogne. 

This  was  a  new  scene  for  a  Scottish  peasant.  The  fas- 
cinating blandishments  of  that  captivating  country,  allured 
Jones  into  the  good  graces  of  a  widow  who  kept  what  is 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  3! 

•ailed  a  Restorateur  or  hotel.  But  she  could  not  give  her 
hand  to  an  adventurer,  or  fortune-hunter,  until  she  was  con- 
vinced that  she  should  receive  something  besides  the  hand 
of  a  rough  and  boisterous  Scotsman.  But  Jones,  to  con- 
vince her  of  the  sincerity  of  his  profession,  placed  in  her 
hands  two  hundred  guineas,  and  once  more  resorted  to  hie 
favorite  element — the  ocean. 

Possessing  requisite  funds,  he  became  a  first  rate  smug- 
gler, and  established  himself  at  Dover,  the  nearest  port  to 
the  coast  of  France,  where  some  of  his  treasure,  and  all  of 
his  heart,  were  deposited.  He  resumed  the  business  of  a 
smuggler;  and  his  success  exceeded  his  most  sanguine  ex- 
pectations. 

But  Capt.  Jones  was  not  satisfied  with  the  mere  accumu- 
lation of  wealth.  He  was  disgusted  with  a  pursuit  which 
did  not  embrace  something  bold  and  daring.  Having  cruis- 
ed against  defenceless  merchantmen,  he  resolved  to  com- 
mence an  attack  upon  an  English  cruiser  designed  to  chas- 
tise the  Barbarians  up  the  Mediterranean. 

However  much  the  cool  calculator  of  chances  may  con- 
demn the  temerity  of  Jones,  it  was  an  attempt  that  perfect- 
ly comported  with  his  character.  With  his  feeble  force  he 
captured  a  well-fitted,  armed  vessel,  and  made  her  his  own. 
In  this  vessel,  he  dashed  into  the  midst  of  armed  ships  and 
peaceful  coasters  :  and,  although  opposed  by  an  over- 
whelming superiority  of  force,  either  by  nautical  skill,  or 
deep  laid  stratagem,  he  effected  his  escape. 

Having  acquired  enough  to  return  to  Boulogne  "in style'* 
his  thoughts  were  turned  to  his  amorous  French  widow 
who  still  remained  there.  He  transferred  his  vessel  to 
his  ascociates — disembarked  ;  and,  with  a  very  considera- 
ble, fortune,   proceeded  to  Boulonge.     The  widow,  with 


8*  NAVAL  HEROES. 

the  artful  finesse,  of  affected  rapture,  no  longer  hesitated 
to  take  Jones  to  her  bosom,  since  it  made  such  an  augmen- 
tation to  her  wealth. 

Captain  Jones  now  appeared  in  a  capacity,  the  worst  of 
all  fitted  to  his  genius  and  disposition — that  of  a  landlord. 
It  was  like  Hercules  at  the  distaff — it  was  like  an  eagle  up- 
on a  shrub.  He,  who  could  not  endure  the  control  of  any 
one,  was  now,  in  a  measure,  under  the  control  of  every 
one.  He  was  a  slave  to  slaves  ;  and  subjected  to  the  calls, 
the  whims  and  caprices  of  every  one  who  visited  his  hotel. 
But  he  figured  away  in  most  splendid  style — gave  sumptu- 
ous entertainments  to  his  customers,  and  appeared  more 
like  one  of  the  French  noblesse,  than  a  retailer  of  cham- 
paigne,  soups,  and  pastry.  This  was  a  grand  scene  for  a 
Scots  peasant  who  seemed  to  have  been  born  to  subsist 
upon  oaten  cakes,  barley  broth,  and  "gude  parritch.'" 
But  these  halcyon  days,  like  an  autumnal  squall,  only  por- 
tended the  storms  of  winter.  Jones  became  outrageous — 
drove  away  his  customers,  and  prepared  again  to  drive  in- 
to more  boisterous  scenes. 

It  would  not  comport  with  the  limits  prescribed  for  this 
sketch,  to  give  a  minute  detail  of  the  numerous  and  diver- 
sified incidents  of  the  life  of  this  extraordinary  man — ex- 
traordinary he  surel)  was,  for  he  completely  transcended 
the  ordinary  traits  of  the  human  character.  He  J  eft  his 
hotel  in  the  care  of  his  wife- -embarked  for  the  Isle  of  Man, 
which  had  just  come  into  the  possession  of  Great  Britain, 
and  commenced  business  as  a  sort  of  prince  of  smugglers. 
He  amassed  riches  ;  and.  as  monejj  is  the  sinew  of  enter- 
prise, lie  repaired  to  Dunkirk,  and  prosecuted  business 
with  success —not  the  business  of  \  regular  merchant,  for 
there  was  nothing  ut  tins  time  oi  regularity  in  his  charac- 
ter. 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  33 

Having  once  deserted  from  a  king's  ship  ;  having  been 
engaged  in  an  illicit  trade,  and  fearing  to  be  betrayed  by 
some  of  his  numerous  comrades,  he  hesitated  whether  to 
visit  his  native  country  or  not.  But  with  his  usual  rash- 
ness, he  dashed  into  London,  that  world  in  miniatuie,  that 
resort  of  every  thing  that  elevates,  and  every  thing  that  de- 
grades the  human  character. 

The  Captain  here  began  to  display  the  "high  charac- 
ter." He  rolled  in  splendour,  and  figured  at  the  gambling 
table.  Here,  to  use  a  familiar  expression,  he  found  his 
■match,  and  was  soon  outmatched.  He  was  reduced  almost 
to  indigence  ;  and  finding  he  could  not  regain  his  wealth 
by  honest  gambling  upon  land,  he  resorted  to  the  business  of 
an  honest  smuggler  at  sea.  Here  he  was  perfectly  at  home  : 
and  having  a  crew  as  daring  as  himself,  he  soon  acquired  a 
large  amount  of  property. 

Towards  the  latter  end  of  the  yearr1773,  Capt.  Jones 
turned  his  attention  towards  America,  and  was  determined 
to  make  a  voyage  to  this  country.  He  sailed  from  Havre, 
in  France,  in  the  spring  of  1774. 

Upon  his  arrival  in  America,  he  found  the  Colonies  in  a 
state  of  tnrbulence  exactly  suited  to  his  wishes.  Despi- 
sing the  idea  of  joining  the  strongest  party,  and  having  the 
utmost  detestation  for  tyrannical  usurpation,  he  resolved  to 
espouse  the  cause  of  America,  which  he  made  his  adopted 
country. 

With  his  high  sense  of  independence — his  hostility 
against  English  power,  from  having  been  impressed — his 
perfect  acquaintance  with  the  coast  of  England,  Scotland 
and  Ireland ;  his  skill  as  a  navigator  and  naval  tactician,  ad- 
ded to  his  undaunted  courage,  rendered  the  acquisition  of 
such  a  man,  at  such  a  time,  of  the  highest  importance.     U 


84  iNAVAL  HEROES. 

was  a  time  of  daring  expedients,  and  required  daring  spirit? 
to  act. 

Capt.  Jones  took  the  earliest  opportunity  to  impart  the 
most  important  information  to  the  high  minded  and  indig- 
nant whigs  of  that  day.  He  was  received  and  treated  with 
every  mark  of  distinction  by  these  unrivalled  patriots  and 
statesmen. 

This  was  a  new  sphere  for  the  ambitious  Jones  to  move 
in.  His  associates,  in  his  own  country,  had  been  men  of 
desperate  fortunes,  and  contaminated  hearts  ;  and  he  must 
have  been  most  favourably  impres-ed  with  the  American 
character,  when  contrasted  with  that  of  his  own  country- 
men. From  an  irregular  and  dissolute  life,  he  became  the 
steady,  cool,  and  determined  hero,  in  the  great  cause  of 
freedom  against  oppression. 

The  confidence  reposed  in  him  by  the  master  spirits 
who  were  to  direct  the  storm  that  was  lowering  over  the 
Thirteen  Colonies  must  have  been  highly  gratifying  to  a 
man  who  was  born,  and  might  have  died,  an  humble  peas- 
ant. 

Being  deemed  of  high  importance  that  every  informa- 
tion possible  should  be  obtained  concerning  England,  and 
especially  of  her  naval  depots  and  commercial  ports,  Capt. 
Jones  was  selected  for  the  purpose  of  repairing  to  Great- 
Britain  fortius  purpose.  This  evinced  the  sagacity  of  the 
early  patriots  of  the  revolution.  Such  information  was 
deeply  interesting,  as  it  regarded  the  contest  which  was 
just  commencing,  and  Jones,  the  best  calculated  of  any 
man  to  obtain  it.  His  Scotch  accent  was  calculated  to 
elude  suspicion  ;  and  his  previous  pursuits  to  lead  him  to 
proper  subjects  of  inquiry.  He  explored  London  ;  min- 
gled in  society  ;  learned  the  sentiments  of  all  classes  con 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  85 

cerning  the  Americans,  and  their  c;  rebellion.'''*  He  repair- 
ed to  the  docks  and  roads  where  armed  vessels  and  mer- 
chantmen were  moored — learned  their  destination,  and  ob- 
jects— purchased  maps,  charts,  and  soundings  of  the  coasts, 
and  obtained  information  which  became  afterwards  of  vast 
importance. 

Capt.  Jones  returned  to  America  in  1775 — communica- 
ted with  the  leaders  of  the  patriotic  and  ardent  heroes 
amongst  our  ancestors  who  dared  to  resist,  and  even  defy 
the  gigantic  power  of  Britain,  when  that  imperious  power 
presumed  to  wrest  from  their  American  Colonies  their  mu- 
nicipal and  chartered  privileges,  and  to  deprive  them  of  the 
rights  of  self-government. 

He  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  an  American  arm- 
ed vessel ;  and  British  merchantmen  found  the  same  ad- 
venturous  hero  upon  the  ocean,  preying  upon  their  com- 
merce, who  was  recently  viewing  their  ports  and  preparing 
for  more  important  enterprizes. 

His  success,  in  this  first  of  his  efforts  in  the  cause  of 
America,  excited  great  applause,  and  raised  the  hopes  of 
intrepid  American  seamen,  who  like  Com.  Biddle,  wished 
to  face  the  enemy  upon  their  adopted  element. 

A  small  ship  called  the  Alfred,  wa3  fitted  for  sea,  belong- 
ing to  a  small  squadron  under  Com.  Hopkins,  who,  it  is 
believed,  was  the  first  commander  of  a  squadron  under  the 
American  government.  Jones  was  a  Lieutenant  of  this 
ship  ;  and  on  board  of  her,  with  his  own  hands,  hoisted  the 
first  "  star  spangled  banner"  which  ever  waved  from  the 
mast  of  an  American  public  ship.  It  was  in  this  squadron 
that  Lieut.  Jones  became  acquainted  with  the  gallant  and 
accomplished  Capt.  Nicholas  Biddle,  who  soon  discovered 
his  fitness  for  a  commander,  and  distinguished  him  with  his 
13 


3G  NAVAL  HEROES. 

particular  attention.  Com.  Hopkins  also  bestowed  upon 
him  the  highest  approbation.  The  expedition  of  this 
squadron  to  the  British  island  of  New-Providence  was  ex- 
ceedingly successful.  They  took  at  this  island  a  large 
quantity  of  the  munitions  of  war  ;  took  some  valuable  pri- 
zes on  the  homeward  bound  passage,  and  entered  the  port 
of  New- London  to  refit. 

The  squadron  was  here  broken  up,  and  the  different  ves- 
sels were  despatched  to  different  stations,  and  upon  vari- 
ous services.  Capt.  Bi.ddle  continued  in  the  command  of 
the  Andrew  Doria,  and  Capt.  Jones  was  ordered  to  the 
small  sloop  Providence,  of  twelve  small  guns  and  the  small 
crew  of  seventy  men. 

His  skill  and  intrepidity  were  so  well  known,  that  the 
government  ordered  him  to  the  hazardous  and  important 
duty  of  convoying  transports  with  troops  from  the  Eastern 
states,  to  the  city  of  New- York.  This  was  in  the  early 
part  of  the  year  1776. 

Lord  Howe's  naval  forces  lined  the  coast  from  Halifax  to 
Chesapeake  bay,  and  rendered  the  utmost  vigilance  indis- 
pensable. In  convoying  the  transports,  he  had  a  running 
engagement  with  H.  B.  M.  frigate  Cerberus  ;  but  he  esca- 
ped with  his  vessel  and  convoy  and  arrived  at  the  port  of 
destination  in  safety. 

He  was  then  ordered  to  convoy  a  ship  containing  naval 
stores,  of  great  value.  He  again  encountered  the  Cerbe- 
rus, and  some  other  of  the  enemy's  vessels, — again  effected 
a  complete  escape,  and  arrived  in  the  Chesapeake  twenty- 
seven  days  after  the  Declaration  of  American  Inde- 
pendence. 

The  importance  of  his  services  were  duly  appreciated 
by  the  Old  Congress,  and  the  President  of  that  august  body, 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  3? 

with  his  own  hand,  presented  John  Paul  Jones,  with  the 
first  commission  of  Captain,  issued  after  the  states  were 
declared  "  Free,  Sovereign,  and  Independent."  It 
bore  date  8th  August,  1776. 

At  this  early  period,  there  was  scarcely  any  thing  on 
board  the  few  armed  ships  which  had  sprung  up,  as  if  by 
magic,  which  is  like  that  discipline,  which  now,  (1823)  is 
established  in  the  navy  of  the  Republic,  and  which  was  be- 
gun in  the  naval  warfare  with  France,  in  the  administration 
of  Adams — advanced  in  the  war  with  Tripoli,  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  Jefferson  ;  and  which  was  almost  perfected 
in  the  second  war  with  Britain,  in  the  administration  of 
Madison. 

The  stern  and  resistless  voice  of  command  could  hardly, 
with  safety,  be  given,  lest  the  restless  spirits  of  that  turbu- 
'ent,  and  doubtful  period,  should  mutinously  disobey  it. 
Captain  Jones  with  a  crew  of  high-minded  Americans,  but 
yet  little  accustomed  to  rigid  discipline,  and  strict  obedi- 
ence, was  differently  situated  from  Captain  Jones,  with  a 
crew  of  Scotch,  Irish,  Welsh,  and  English,  smugglers. 

His  perfect  acquaintance  with  the  human  character,  in 
all  its  ramifications,  made  him  fully  aware  of  this  ;  and 
convinced  him  that  he  must  govern  more  by  the  influence 
of  persuasion,  than  by  the  exercise  of  authority.  He  was 
but  twenty-eight  years  of  age — had  been  in  America  but 
two  years,  and  was  by  birth  a  Scotsman — circumstances 
not  very  favourable  for  conciliating  a  race  of  men  who 
had  thrown  the  gauntlet  of  defiance  at  kings,  dukes,  lords, 
generals,  and  admirals.  But  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
seemed  to  be  endued  with  faculties  calculated  for  almost 
every  possible  emergency. 


88  NAVAL  HEROES. 

Soon  after  Capt.  Jones  was  honoured  by  a  commission 
from  Congress,  he  repaired  to  sea  in  his  old  ship,  the  little 
Providence.  His  orders  were  indefinite,  and  he  was  left 
to  govern  himself  by  the  dictates  of  his  own  judgment. 
He  run  down  the  Bermudas,  and  fell  in  with  a  large  con- 
voy, under  the  protection  of  the  frigate  Solebay,  of  30  guns. 
His  object  was  to  escape  ;  but  his  officers  and  seamen 
were  bent  upon  capturing  some  part  of  the  convoy.  He 
was  attacked  by  the  Solebay — for  nearly  six  hours  main- 
tained a  distant  contest  with  this  vast  superiority  of  force, 
and  by  a  masterly  manoeuvre  effected  an  escape.  His 
crew  were  now  convinced  that  they  needed  his  judgment 
in  going  into  action,  as  his  skill  had  saved  them  by  disen- 
gaging the  ship  from  such  an  unequal  contest. 

He  now  bore  away  for  Nova  Scotia,  and  soon  captured 
several  merchantmen.  He  was  now  placed  in  a  situation 
where  he  could  not  avoid  a  contest  with  a  ship  of  war,  still 
superior  to  the  Solebay.  It  was  the  celebrated  Frigate 
Milford,  of  32  guns.  Capt.  Jones  manoeuvred  the  Provi- 
dence so  as  to  keep  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  en- 
emy, as  he  must  have  done,  to  withstand  a  cannonade  from 
10  A.  M.  until  6  P.  M.  with  such  a  force  as  the  Milford. 
He  then,  by  a  favouring  breeze,  made  his  escape  into  a 
small  harbour,  into  which  the  Milford  could  not  pursue 
him. 

He  here  made  the  enemy  feel  the  distress  and  the  losses 
from  which  his  crew  and  ship  had  just  escaped.  He  de- 
stroyed the  vessels  in  the  harbour,  and  the  fisheries  ;  but 
he  did  not  destroy  a  single  habitation  of  the  people. 

He  continued  some  time  in  this  region,  taking  valuable 
prizes, — sinking  or  burning  vessels,  and  destroying  fishe- 
eries.     After  a  cruise  of  seven  weeks,  in  which  time  he 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  89 

nad  been  attacked  by,  and  escaped  from  two  heavy  frig- 
ates, he  returned  to  Rhode  Island,  having  sent  in,  or  bring- 
ing with  him  sixteen  valuable  prizes  !  ! 

This  gallant  and  successful  cruise  of  course,  augmented 
the  reputation  of  Capt.  Jones;  inflicted  a  severe  wound 
upon  the  enemy,  and  aided  the  resources  of  the  country, 
to  which  he  had  become  devoted. 

Thirteen  ships,  called  frigates,*  had  previously  been  or- 
dered to  be  built ;  but  upon  the  return  of  the  Providence 
from  her  third  cruise,  were  not  ready  for  sea.  An  expe- 
dition had  been  planned  however,  for  Capt.  Jones,  well 
calculated  for  his  active  and  daring  spirit. 

Amongst  American  prisoners  taken  by  the  British,  there 
wee  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  incarcerated  in  the 
coal  mine,  on  Isle  Royale.  To  restore  these  unfortunate 
Americans,  and  to  destroy  the  very  valuable  whale  and 
cod  fishery  at  that  place,  was  the  two- fold  object  of  this 
expedition.  The  vessels  designed  for  this  important  ser- 
vice, were  the  Alfred,  Hampden,  and  Providence.  Com- 
modore Jones  now  hoisted  his  pendant  on  board  the  same 
ship  which  first  displayed  the  American  banner. 

As  the  season  was  advancing,  and  as  the  expedition  was 
destined  for  a  northern  and  boisterous  region,  Jones  felt 
extremely  solicitous  to  weigh  anchor  and  get  under  way. 
The  Hampden,  not  being  fitted  for  sea,  was  left  in  port. 

Upon  Nov.  2d,  1776,  Com.  Jones  set  sail  in  the  Alfred, 
the  Providence  in  company.  He  soon  had  the  satisfaction 
of  falling  in  with  and  capturing  the  British  armed  ship,  the 
Mcllish.  She  was  a  fine  ship  of  her  class,  having  a  vast 
amount  of  stores  for  the  army  of  Gen.  Burgoyne. 

At  this  period,  the  American  land  forces  were  in  a  state 

*  See  Introduction. 


90  NAVAL  HEROES. 

of  destitution,  which,  if  described,  would  excite  the  incre- 
dulity of  the  younger  class  of  readers.  One  of  the  best  ap- 
pointed British  armies,  under  Burgoyne,  that  ever  landed 
in  America,  was  forcing  its  way  through  the  northern 
states  to  form  a  junction  with  sir  Henry  Clinton's  army  at 
New  York.  Gen.  Washington  was  retiring  with  the  dis- 
heartened wreck  of  a  little  army  through  New  Jersey ; 
and  the  Thirteen  Colonies  recently  declared  independent 
seemed  to  look  like  so  many  trembling  victims,  about  to 
be  immolated  upon  the  sanguinary  altar  of  monarchial 
vengeance. 

Com.  Jones  sent  in  his  prize,  containing  10,000  complete 
suits  of  winter  uniform,  and  other  materials  of  war.  As 
by  weakening  the  enemy,  by  destroying  their  materials  of 
war,  the  strength  of  the  successful  party  is  augmented,  so 
by  preserving  them,  it  gains  a  double  advantage.  The  loss 
to  the  army  of  Burgoyne  can  hardly  be  calculated — the 
gain  to  that  of  Washington,  cannot  be  estimated.  The 
campaign  of '76  closed  by  the  victory  of  Trenton,  where 
Washington  triumphed — that  of '77,  when  Burgoyne  fell  at 
Saratoga.* 

*  A  recent  perusal  of  Burgoyne's  "  State  of  the  expedition  into  Ca~ 
nada,  during1  the  campaign  of  1776  and  1777,"  induces  me  to  extract 
the  following  as  a  signal  instance  of  female  fortitude  and  affection  in 
Mrs.  Ackland ;  and  as  exhibiting  a  fine  trait  in  the  Revolutionary- 
Hero,  Horatio  Gates,  as  daring  and  successful  in  the  army,  as  Jones 
was  in  the  navy. 

"  At  the  time  the  action  began,  she  found  herself  near  a  small  un- 
inhabited hut,  where  she  alighted.  When  it  was  found  the  action  was 
becoming  general  and  bloody,  the  surgeons  of  the  hospital  took  pos- 
session of  the  same  place,  as  the  most  convenient  for  the  first  care  of 
the  wounded.  Thus  was  this  lady  in  hearing  of  one  continued  fire  of 
cannon  and  musketry  for  some  hours  together,  with  the  presumption, 
from  the  post  of  her  husband  at  the  head  of  the  grenadiers,  that  he 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  91 

In  the  Mellish,  Com.  Jones  also  made  two  British  naval 
officers  prisoners,  one  of  whom  was  afterwards  exchanged 
for  Lieut.  Josiah,  a  favourite  officer  of  the  gallant  Biddle. 

was  in  the  most  exposed  part  of  the  action.  She  had  three  female 
companions,  the  Baroness  of  Reidesel,  and  the  wives  of  two  British 
officers,  Major  Harnage  and  Lieutenant  Reynell ;  but,  in  the  event, 
their  presence  served  but  little  for  comfort.  Major  Harnage  was  soon 
brought  to  the  surgeons  very  badly  wounded  ;  and  a  little  while  after 
came  intelligence  that  Lieutenant  Reynell  was  shot  dead.  Imagina- 
tion will  want  no  helps  to  figure  the  state  of  the  whole  group. 

"  From  the  date  of  that  action  to  the  7th  of  October,  Lady  Harriet 
with  her  usual  serenity,  stood  prepared  for  new  trials.  And  it  was  her 
lot  that  their  severity  increased  with  their  numbers.  She  was  again 
exposed  to  the  hearing  of  the  whole  action,  and  at  last  received  the 
shock  of  her  individual  misfortune,  mixed  with  the  intelligence  of  the 
general  calamity ;  the  troops  were  defeated,  and  Major  Ackland,  des- 
perately wounded,  was  a  prisoner. 

"  The  day  of  the  8th  was  passed  by  Lady  Harriet  and  her  compan- 
ions in  common  anxiety  ;  not  a  tent  or  a  shed  being  standing,  except 
what  belonged  to  the  hospital,  their  refuge  was  among  the  wounded 
and  the  dying. 

' '  I  soon  received  a  message  from  Lady  Harriet,  submitting  to  my 
decision  a  proposal  (and  expressing  an  earnest  solicitude  to  execute  it, 
if  not  interfering  with  my  designs)  of  passing  to  the  camp  of  the  ene- 
my, and  requesting  Gen.  Gates'  permission  to  attend  her  husband. 

"  Though  I  was  ready  to  believe  (for  1  had  experienced)  that  pa- 
tience and  fortitude,  in  a  supreme  degree,  were  to  be  found,  as  well  as 
every  virtue,  under  the  most  tender  forms,  I  was  astonished  at  this 
proposal.  After  so  long  an  agitation  of  spirits,  exhausted  not  only  for 
want  of  rest,  but  absolutely  for  want  of  food,  drenched  in  rains  for 
twelve  hours  together,  that  a  woman  should  be  capable  of  such  an  un- 
dertaking as  delivering  herself  to  the  enemy,  probably  in  the  night, 
and  uncertain  of  what  hands  she  might  fall  into,  appeared  an  effort 
above  human  nature.  The  assistance  I  was  enabled  to  give  was 
small  indeed  ;  I  had  not  even  a  cup  of  wine  to  offer  her ;  but  I  was 
told,  she  had  found,  from  some  kind  and  fortunate  hand,  a  little  rum 
and  dirty  water.     All  I  could  furnish  to  her  was  an  open  boat,  and  a 


92  NAVAL  HEROES. 

The  Providence,  in  a  manner  wholly  inexplicable,  left 
the  ship  Alfred  ;  and  Com.  Jones,  encumbered  with  pris- 
oners— encountered  by  storms — and  surrounded  by  ene- 
mies, prosecuted  his  cruise  alone.  He  effected  a  landing, 
demolished  every  building  and  establishment  connected 
with  the  whale  and  cod  fisheries,  and  also  a  rich  transport. 
Bearing  away  for  Isle  Royale,  as  if  •" fortune  always  fa- 
vours the  brave,"  he  captured  three  valuable  transports, 
while  the  frigate  Flora,  which  was  convoying  them,  was 
hard  by,  concealed  in  a  fog.  Soon  after,  he  captured  a 
large  Liverpool  privateer,  mounting  sixteen  heavy  guns. 
Thus  surrounded  with  prizes,  and  having  more  prisoners 
than  crew,  he  steered  for  an  American  port.  Off  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  he  was  a  second  time  encountered  by  the 
frigate  Milford.  But  the  little  Alfred  still  proved  to  be 
"  Alfred  the  great."     He  instructed  his  prize-masters  to 

few  lines,  written  upon  dirty  and  wet  paper,  to  Gen.  Gates,  recom 
mending  her  to  his  protection. 

"  Mr.  Brudenell,  the  chaplain  to  the  artillery,  readily  undertook  to 
accompany  her,  and  with  one  female  servant,  and  the  major's  valet 
de  chambre,  (who  had  a  ball  which  he  had  received  in  the  late  action, 
then  in  his  shoulder,)  she  rowed  down  the  river  to  meet  the  enemy. 
But  her  distresses  were  not  yet  to  end.  The  night  was  advanced  be- 
fore the  boat  reached  the  enemy's  outposts,  and  the  sentinel  would 
not  let  it  pass,  nor  even  come  to  shore.  In  vain  Mr.  Brudenell  offer 
ed  the  flag  of  truce,  and  represented  the  state  of  the  extraordinary 
passenger.  The  guard,  apprehensive  of  treachery,  and  punctilious  to 
their  orders,  threatened  to  fire  into  the  boat,  if  they  stirred  before 
daylight.  Her  anxiety  and  sufferings  were  thus  protracted  through 
seven  or  eight  dark  and  cold  hours ;  and  her  reflections  upon  that  fir.st 
reception  could  not  give  her  very  encouraging  ideas  of  the  treatment 
she  was  afterwards  to  expect.  But  it  is  due  to  justice,  at  the  close  of 
this  adventure,  to  say,  that  she  was  received  and  accommodated  by 
General  Gates,  with  all  the  humanity  and  respect,  that  her  rank,  her 
merits,  and  her  fortunes  deserved." 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES. 

make  all  possible  sail  for  the  nearest  port  •,  and  as  dark- 
ness approached,  placed  the  Alfred  between  them  and  the 
-raised  his  lights,  and  suddenly  changed  his  course. 
The  Milford  continued  in  chase,  a. id  the  next  day,  at  3  P. 
M.  engaged  the  Alfred. 

This  gallant  warrior  could  not  endure  the  thought  of 
lowering  that  Hag  which  he  first  raised.  The  contest  was 
fearfully  unequal  ;  but  the  Commodore,  by  dauntless  cou~ 
rage,  and  nautical  skill  saved  his  ship  and  prizes,  and  tri- 
umphantly entered  Boston  harbour,  Dec.  1,  1776. 

Regardless  of  wealth,  as  he  was  ambitious  of  fame,  he 
paid  the  crews  of  the  Alfred  and  Providence  their  wages 
and  prize  money  out  of  his  own  purse,  and  transmitted 
the  remainder  ol  it  to  Congress,  to  aid  in  the  glorious  cause 
in  which  he  was  now  so  enthusiastically  engaged. 

A  vote  of  thanks  from  such  a  body  of  men  as  the  Old 
Congress,  by  the  recommendation  of  such  a  man  as 
George  Washington,  must  have  elated  such  a  champion  as 
John  Paul  Jones  to  the  highest  elevation  of  joy.  Such 
thanks  he  received,  and  became  more  and  more  devoted  to 
the  cause  of  American  Independence. 

To  speak  of  the  American  Navy  at  the  beginning  of  the 
last  quarter  of  the  eighteenth, — at  near  the  close  of  the  first 
quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century,  would  almost  excite  a 
smile.  Indeed  American  armed  ships  were  then  but  "cock- 
boats" to  the  navy  of  the  Republic  in  1823.  This  was 
not  the  only  difficulty.  Although  there  were  many  gal- 
lant and  accomplished  commanders,  there  was  no  "Com- 
mander in  chief  of  the  Navy;"  like  him  whose  matchless 
wisdom  guided  the  armies  of  the  struggling  States.  Fur- 
ther ;  there  was  but  little  of  naval  discipline,  system,  or 
subordination — and  there  was  no  concert. 
14 


94  NAVAL  HEROES. 

Commodore  Jones,  after  his  arrival  in  Boston,  proposed 
to  Congress  an  important  expedition  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
and  the  West  Indies.  It  met  the  entire  approbation  of  that 
body;  but  was  relinquished  from  either  the  cowardice, 
malice  or  jealousy  of  a  senior  naval  officer  who  will  not  be 
named.  But  this  ardent  hero  could  not  endure  a  state  of 
inaction  or  suspense.  He  knew  what  he  had  accomplished, 
and  was  prepared  to  attempt  any  enterprise  within  the  ac- 
complishment of  human  exertion. 

Early  in  the  year  1777,  he  took  command  of  the  sloop 
of  war  Ranger,  of  J  8  guns,  destined  for  France.  Thi? 
cruise,  as  it  would  carry  him  to  near  the  scenes  of  his  early 
life,  in  a  new,  and  in  an  important  capacity,  he  entered  in- 
to it  with  avidity. 

Upon  the  coast  of  France,  and  the  opposite  coast  of  Bri- 
tain, he  was  unceasingly  vigilant,  and  uncommonly  success- 
ful in  taking  prizes  and  sending  them  into  French  ports. 

In  December,  1777,  he  had  the  honour  and  the  satisfac- 
tion of  entering  the  port  of  Nantz,  and  communicating  the 
first  intelligence  of  the  splendid  victory  of  the  American 
forces  under  Gen.  Gates,  over  those  of  Britain,  under  Gen. 
Burgoyne. 

The  bearer  of  official  intelligence  of  a  great  victory,  is 
regarded  with  a  respect  almost  equal  to  the  one  who 
achieves  it.  By  communicating  this  exhiliarating  intelli- 
gence, Commodore  Jones  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
courtiers  of  the  splendid  court  of  Louis  XVI.  By  this 
victory,  France  was  induced  to  aid  the  British  colonies  ia 
America,  in  breaking  the  ligament  that  previously  bound 
them  to  their  natural  enemy — Great  Britain.  France  ac- 
knowledged the  independence  of  "  The  United  States  of 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  to 

America,1'  which  was  deemed  a  declaration  of  war  against 
Britain. 

Commodore  Jones  was  now  determined  to  sustain  the 
character  in  Europe,  which  he  had  acquired  in  Ameri- 
ca. He  repaired  to  Paris  early  in  1778,  to  concert  meas- 
ures with  the  American  minister  at  the  Court  of  St.  Cloud. 
He  returned  to  the  Ranger,  and  convoyed  a  great  number 
of  American  vessels  from  Nantz  to  Quiberon  Bay,  where  a 
French  fleet  with  stores  for  America,  and  destined  for  that 
country  was  lying.  That  gallant  and  noble  friend  of  Amer- 
ica, and  of  the  rights  of  man.  Marquis  Fayette  was  on  board 
this  fleet. 

As  the  Ranger  was  entering  the  bay,  Com.  Jones  sent  in  a 
Lieutenant  to  know  if  his  salute  would  be  answered  ?  By 
a  signal  he  was  assured  it  would.  He  immediately  saluted 
the  French  Admiral,  and  he  immediately  saluted  Com. 
Jones — the  first  salute  the  American  Flag  ever  received 
from  a  foreign  power. 

When  the  treaty  of  alliance  between  America  and  France 
was  announced  to  him,  he  entered  the  port  of  Brest  in  the 
most  gallant  style,  and  saluted  the  Admiral,  Count  D'Ovil- 
liers,  who  returned  the  salute  and  received  Com.  Jones 
on  board  the  Bretagne,  his  flag  ship. 

It  would  seem  that  this  would  have  been  the  consumma- 
tion of  this  aspiring  man's  wishes  ;  but  when  a  Scotsman 
begins  to  acquire  wealth,  he  is  like  the  daughter  of  the 
horse-leach,  crying  "give  give." — When  he  begins  to  ac- 
quire power,  he  is  unsatisfied,  until  it  becomes  as  near  ab- 
solute as  possible. 

Commodore  Jones  now  resolved  to  accomplish  some- 
thing beyond  convoying  merchantmen  and  capturing  prizes. 
He  steered  for  Carrickfurgus,  lreiand,  from  whence  the  an- 


96  NAVAL  HEROES. 

cestors  of  Andrew  JacksoK  emigrated  to  America,  ab 
ten  years  previous.  He  omitted  to  take  prizes  because  i;. 
wouid  diminish  his  crew  ;  being  determined  to  achieve  some 
heroic  deed.  He  intended  to  attack  the  Drake,  a  heavy 
armed  JO  gun  ship.  Boisterous  weather  prevented  him  at 
this  time  from  a  tcte  a  tete  with  that  ship,  and  led  him  into 
another,  the  most  daring  deed  in  the  annals  of  desperation. 
He  selected  thirty  volunteers,  with  whom  he  was  deter- 
mined to  make  a  landing  in  Whitehaven,  a  large  shipping 
port  on  the  Firth  of  Solway. 

He  left  the  Ranger,  and  entered  a  boat  at  ebb-tide,  in  the 
night  season,  when  the  vessels  could  not  escape — landed 
near  the  fort,  and  was  the  first  who  mounted  the  walls.  He 
carried  the  fort — spiked  forty  pieces  of  cannon — set  fire  to 
the  shipping,  and,  by  daylight,  entered  again  on  board  the 
Ranger.  The  alarm  spread  rapidly  through  the  country 
and  the  shores  were  lined  with  soldiers,  who  could  only 
look  with  fear  and  chagrin  at  the  American  Flag  proudly 
waving  upon  the  little  Ranger. 

Commodore  Jones,  landed  at  his  birth  place,  and  visited 
his  father,  who  still  remained  the  humble  industrious,  and 
pious  peasant.  Probably  he  would  not  have  exchanged  the 
happiness  he  derived  from  that  Scotch  devotion  so  admi- 
rably described  by  Burns  in  his  "  Cottager's  Saturday-night" 
for  the  wealth  and  fame  of  bis  son. 

The  reader  will  recollect  that  the  Earl  of  Selkirk  dis- 
carded Jones  in  early  life.  The  Commodore  now  deter- 
mined to  take  his  Lordship  prisoner,  and  entertain  him  on 
board  the  Ranger.  In  this  he  was  disappointed,  as  the 
Earl  was  in  Parliament  in  London.  His  officers  and  men, 
contrary  to  his  wishes,  rifled  the  castle  of  a  large  amount  of 
plate,  which  Jones  afterwards  purchased  and  returned  to 


0:\f.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  97 

i 
his  Lordship,  and  received   from   him  a  letter  of  thanks, 
couched  in  the  most  grateful  and  flattering  terms. 

This  was  perfectly  in  character  with  this  gallant  ; 
culiar  man.     He  would  have  given  more  to  have  had  thi 
Earl  a  prisoner  on  board  the  Ramger,  than  to  have  had  the 
fee-simple  of  all  his  Lordships  domains  in  Scotland. 

The  commander  of  the  British  ship  Drake,  now  in  turn 
went  in  pursuit  of  the  Ranger.  In  the  latter  end  of  April. 
1778,  about  six  weeks  after  the  loss  of  Com.  Biddle  in  the 
Randolph,  the  two  ships  hove  in  sight  of  each  other.  Com. 
Jones  disguised  his  ship  as  much  as  possible — masked  his 
guns — concealed  his  men,  and  had  the  appearance  of  a 
merchantman.  A  boat's  crew  from  the  Drake  approach- 
ed to  reconnoitre  the  Ranger,  and  were  suddenly  made 
prisoners.  The  Drake  immediately  bore  into  action. 
The  Ranger  laid  to,  until  the  enemy  came  within  pistol 
shot.  She  then  poured  in  her  lire  with  such  admirable 
gunnery  and  rapidity,  that  in  one  hour,  the  hull  and  rig- 
ging of  the  Drake  were  severely  injured — her  Captain  and 
1st  Lieutenant  slain,  and  over  forty  men  killed  and  wound- 
ed. She  struck  her  flag  to  the  Ranger,  and  was  carried 
triumphantly  into  Brest  on  the  7th  May,  1778. 

Com.  Jones  had  beside  taken  a  number  of  prizes,  and 
had  with  him  more  than  200  prisoners,  for  which  the  im- 
perious court  of  St.  James  was  necessitated  to  deliver  the 
same  number  of  American  Rebels. 

Count  D'Orvilliers  sent  an  express  to  Dr.  Franklin, 
American  minister,  informing  him  of  this  brilliant  affair, 
and  his  majesty  Louis  XVI.  gave  an  order  for  Com.  Jones 
to  repair  to  Versailles. 

France  and  England  were  now  seriously  at  war,  and 
very  important  designs  were  communicated  to  him.     It  i? 


38  NAVAL  HEROES. 

unnecessary  to  detail  the  various  plans  conceived,  and 
then  relinquished.  He  was  ill)  calculated  to  digest  a  sys- 
tem of  extensive  operations.  The  negotiations  of  the 
courts  at  Versailles  and  Amsterdam  were  not  so  well  cal- 
culated for  the  genius  of  John  Paul  Jones,  as  negotiation  at 
the  cannon's  mouth.  rI  hat  was  a  language  he  better  un- 
derstood than  he  did  that  of  the  diplomatist.  Although  in 
the  midst  of  the  blandishments  and  charms  of  France,  he 
became  impatient  at  the  delays  which  from  time  to  time  oc- 
curred. He  was  determined  to  take  his  little  Ranger, 
and  range  where  he  chose. 

At  length  an  ill-appointed  and  ill-fitted  squadron  was  pre- 
pared for  him.  The  American  frigate  Alliance  was  in 
France.  An  old  ship,  which  he  named  Le  Bon  Homme  Rich- 
ard, (the  Good  Man  Richard)  was  fitted  up  with  old  cannon, 
unfit  for  a  ship  of  war.  She  was  called  a  40  gun  ship  ;  but 
was  no  ways  equal  to  the  late  American  frigate  Essex,  of 
32  guns.  The  Pallas  was  a  large  merchantmen,  and  was 
furnished  with  about  30  little  eight  pounders.  The  Ven- 
geance with  12  three  pounders,  and  Cerf  with  13  nine 
pounders. 

The  crews  were  of  the  worst  possible  description.  Un- 
disciplined, inexperienced,  mutinous,  and  turbulent;  of  al- 
most all  nations  and  tongues,  they  cared  little  about  glory, 
and  were  almost  wholly  bent  upon  plunder.  Prize  money 
instead  of  glory  was  their  object. 

With  this  incongruous  mass  of  materials,  called  a  squad- 
ron, Com.  Jones  sailed  from  Groays,  in  France,  upon  the 
14th  August,  1779,  the  Richard,  flagship. 

The  object  was  to  cruise  for  the  Baltic  fleet,  which  was 
known  to  be  on  the  homeward  bound  passage. 

The  squadron  was  dispersed  either  by  the  weather  or  the 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  9& 

insubordination  of  the  crews.  Com.  Jones  captured  a 
number  of  prizes  and  privateers  vvitli  the  Richard,  and  sent 
them  to  the  most  convenient  ports  in  France. 

At  length,  upon  the  2  id  September,  the  Baltic  fleet,  un- 
der convoy  of  the  Seraphis,  one  of  the  heaviest  and  best  ap- 
pointed frigates  in  the  British  navy,  of  44  guns;  and  the 
new  Countess  of  Scarborough  of  22  guns  ;  two  ships,  con- 
sidering their  batteries  and  munition,  equal  to  Com.  Jones' 
whole  squadron,  appeared  off  the  coast. 

They  had  approached  within  two  leagues  of  the  coast  of 
England,  and  in  sight  of  Scarborough  Castle.  The  Alli- 
ance was  at  a  distance,  lying  to  ;  and  the  Pallas  hauled  her 
wind  ;  so  that  the  Good  Man  Richard  was  to  encounter  the 
Seraphis  and  Countess,  single  handed.  IJer  crew  was  di- 
minished, and  there  was  but  one  lieutenant  on  board. 

Before  mentioning  any  particulars  of  the  engagement,  I 
have  the  satisfaction  of  presenting  the  reader  with  Com. 
Jones  official  account  of  the  desperate  battle  which  fol- 
lowed. In  point  of  brevity  and  perspicuity,  it  will  suffer 
but  little  from  a  comparison  with  the  justly  admired,  naval 
letters  in  the  second  war  with  Britain — 
*  Copy  of  a  letter  from  John  Paul  Jones,  late  commander 
of  the  ship  of  war  Good  Man  Richard,  dated  on  board 
the  ship  of  war  Seraphis,  off  the  Texel,  Oct.  31,  1  779. 
"  I  have  only  time,  my  dear  friends,  to  inform  you,  that 
I  have  this  day  anchored  here,  having  taken  this  ship  in  the 
night  of  the  23d  ult.  on  the  coast  of  England,  after  a  battle 
of  three  hours  and  a  half;  two  hours  and  a  half  of  that  time 
the  Good  Man  Richard  and  this  ship  being  fast  along  side  of 
one  another,  both  ships  being  in  flames,  and  the  Good  Man 
Richard  making  water  faster  than  all  the  pumps  could  de- 
liver it.     Tbis  ship  mounts  44  guns,  and  has  two  entire 


100  NAVAL  HEROES. 

batteries,  one  of  them  eighteen  pounders,  so  that  my  situa- 
tion was  severe  enough,  to  have  to  deal  with  such  an  ene- 
my, in  such  a  dreadful  situation.  Judge  then,  what  it  must 
have  been  when  the  Alliance  came  up,  towards  the  close  of 
the  action  ;  and,  instead  of  assisting  me,  directed  her  whole 
fire  against  the  Good  Man  Richard,  not  once  or  twice,  but 
repeatedly,  after  being  spoke  to,  and  shewing  a  private  sig- 
nal of  recognizance.  The  Alliance  killed  eleven  men  and 
mortally  wounded  an  officer  on  the  Good  Man  Richard's 
forecastle,  at  one  volley.  I  have  lost,  in  killed  and  wound- 
ed, the  best  part  of  my  men.  The  Good  Man  Richard 
went  to  the  bottom  on  the  morning  of  the  25th  ult.  in  spite 
of  every  effort  to  bring  her  into  port.  No  action  before 
was  ever,  in  all  respects,  so  bloody,  so  severe,  and  so  last- 
ing. I  beg  of  you  to  communicate  this,  with  my  best  re- 
spects, to  the  gentlemen  of  your  port. 

"  The  fire  was  not  quite  extinguished  on  board  of  the 
Good  Man  Richard,  till  eight  hours  after  the  enemy  had 
struck:  and  at  last  it  had  reached  within  a  few  feet  of  the 
magazine.  We  lost  all  the  stores  and  all  our  private  ef- 
fects 5  but  no  lives  were  lost  from  the  conflagration.  The 
Pallas  took,  at  the  same  time,  an  armed  ship  of  twenty  6 

pounders. 

JOHN  PAUL  JONES. 

N.  B.  The  prizes  taken  and  ransomed  by  the  Good  Man 
Richard  during  her  cruize  of  about  three  months,  amount 
to  at  least  about  a  million  of  livres." 

As  this  action  excited  astonishment  and  wonder  in  Eu- 
rope as  well  as  in  America,  I  offer  the  letter  of  Capt.  Pear- 
son, of  the  Seraphis,  as  a  specimen  of  British  veracity  half  a 
century  ago.  The  antiquity  and  scarcity  of  such  revolu- 
tionary papers,  give  them  a  great  value  at  this  time—- 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  101 

"  Pallas,  French  frigate,  in  Congress  service,  ) 
Texel/ October  6,  1779.  \ 

Sir, 
You  will  be  pleased  to  inform  the  lords  commissioners  of 
the  Admiralty,  that  on  the  23d  ult.  being  close  in  with  the 
Scarborough,  about  1 1  o'clock,  a  boat  came  on  board  with 
a  letter  from  the  Bailiffs  of  that  corporation,  giving  infor- 
mation of  a  flying  squadron  of  the  enemy's  ships  being  on 
the  coast,  and  a  part  of  the  said  squadron  having  been  seen 
from  thence  the  day  before,  standing  to  the  southward.  As 
soon  as  I  received  this  intelligence,  I  made  the  signal  for 
the  convoy  to  bear  down  under  my  lee,  and  repeated  with 
two  guns  -y  notwithstanding  which,  the  van  of  the  convoy 
kept  their  wind,  with  all  sail  stretching  out  to  the  south- 
ward from  under  Flamborough  head,  till  between  twelve 
and  one,  when  the  headmost  of  them  got  in  sight  of  the 
enemy's  ships  which  were  then  in  chase  of  them  ;  they 
then  tacked  and  made  the  best  of  their  way  under  the  shore 
for  Scarborough,  &c.  letting  fly  their  top-gallant  sheets  and 
firing  guns  ;  upon  which  I  made  all  the  sail  I  could  to  the 
windward,  to  get  between  the  enemy's  ships  and  the  con- 
voy, which  I  soon  effected.  At  one  o'clock  we  got  sight  of 
the  enemy's  ships  from  mast  head,  and  about  four  we  made 
them  plain  from  the  deck  to  be  three  large  ships  and  a  brig, 
upon  which  I  made  the  Countess  of  Scarborough's  signal  to 
join  me,  she  being  in  shore  with  the  convoy,  at  the  same 
time  I  made  the  signal  for  the  convoy  to  make  the  best  of 
their  way,  and  repeated  the  signal  with  two  guns ;  I  then 
brought  to,  let  the  Countess  of  Scarborough  come  up,  and 
cleared  ship  for  action.  At  half  past  five  the  Countess  of 
Scarborough  joined  me,  the  enemy's  ships  then  bearing 
down  upon  us,  with  a  light  breeze  atS.  S.  W.  at  six  tacked, 
15 


102  NAVAL  HEROES. 

and  laid  our  head  in  shore,  in  order  to  keep  the  ground  the 
better  between  the  enemy's  ships  and  the  convoy  :  soon  af- 
ter which  we  perceived  the  ships  bearing  down  upon  us  to 
be  a  two  decked  ship  and  two  frigates  ;  but  from  keeping  off 
and  on  upon  us,  on  bearing  down,  we  could  not  discern 
what  colours  they  were  under.  At  about  20  minutes  past 
seven,  the  largest  ship  of  the  three  brought  to,  on  our  lar- 
board bow,  within  musket  shot :  I  hailed  him,  and  asked 
him  what  ship  it  was  ;  they  answered  in  English  the  Princes- 
Royal  ;  I  then  asked  who  they  belonged  to,  they  answered 
evasively  ;  on  which  I  told  them,  if  they  did  not  answer  di- 
rectly, I  would  fire  into  them  ;  they  answered  with  a  shot, 
which  was  instantly  returned  with  a  broadside  ;  he  backed 
his  topsails,  and  dropped  upon  our  quarter  within  pistol 
shot,  then  filled  again,  put  his  helm  a-weather,  and  run  us 
on  board  upon  our  weather  quarter,  and  attempted  to  board 
us,  but  being  repulsed,  he  sheered  off,  upon  which  I  back- 
ed our  topsails,  in  order  to  get  square  with  him  again, 
which,  as  soon  as  he  observed,  he  then  filled,  put  his  helm, 
a  weather,  and  laid  us  athwart  hawse  ;  his  mizen  shrouds 
took  our  jib  boom,  which  hung  him  for  some  time,  till  it  at 
last  gave  way,  and  we  dropt  alongside  of  each  other  head 
and  stern,  when  the  fluke  of  our  spare  anchor  hooking  quar- 
ter, we  became  so  close  fore  and  aft,  that  the  muzzles  of 
our  guns  touched  each  others  sides.  In  this  position  we 
engaged  from  half  past  eight  till  half  past  ten  ;  during  which 
time,  from  the  great  quantity  and  variety  of  combustible 
matters  which  they  threw  in  upon  our  decks,  chains,  and 
in  short  into  every  part  of  the  ship,  we  were  on  fire  not  less 
than  ten  or  twelve  times  in  different  parts  of  the  ship,  and 
it  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  and  exertion  imaginable 
at  times  that  we  were  able  to  get  it  extinguished.     At  the 


uOM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  103 

«,tme  time  the  largest  of  the  two  frigates  kept  sailing  round 
us  the  whole  action,  raking  us  fore  and  aft,  by  which  means 
she  killed  or  wounded  almost  every  man  on  the  quarter 
and  main  decks. 

About  half  past  nine,  either  from  a  hand  grenade  being 
thrown  in  at  one  of  the  lower  deck  ports,  or  from  some 
other  accident,  a  cartridge  of  powder  was  set  on  fire,  the 
flames  of  which  running  from  cartridge  to  cartridge  all  the 
way  aft,  blew  up  the  whole  of  the  people  and  officers  that 
were  abaft  the  mainmast,  from  which  unfortunate  circum- 
stance all  these  guns  were  rendered  useless  for  the  remain- 
der of  the  action,  and  I  fear  the  greatest  part  of  the  people 
will  lose  their  lives.  At  ten  o'clock  they  called  for  quar- 
ters from  the  ship  alongside,  and  said  they  had  struck  : 
hearing  this,  I  called  upon  the  captain  to  know  if  they  had 
struck,  or  if  he  asked  for  quarters  ;  but  no  answer  being 
made,  after  repeating  my  words  two  or  three  times,  I  call- 
ed for  the  boarders,  and  ordered  them  to  board,  which  they 
did  ;  but  the  moment  they  were  on  board  her,  they  discov- 
ered a  superior  number  laying  under  cover  with  pikes  in 
their  hands  ready  to  receive  them,  on  which  our  people  re- 
treated instantly  into  our  own  ship,  and  returned  to  their 
guns  again  till  past  ten,  when  the  frigate  coming  across  our 
stern,  and  pouring  her  broadside  into  us  again,  without  our 
being  able  to  bring  a  gun  to  bear  on  her,  I  found  it  in  vain, 
and  in  short  impracticable,  from  the  situation  we  were  in, 
to  stand  out  any  longer  with  the  least  prospect  of  success  \ 
1  therefore  struck,  (our  main- mast  at  the  same  time  went 
by  the  board.)  The  first  Lieutenant  and  myself  were  im- 
mediately escorted  into  the  ship  along  side,  when  we  found 
her  to  be  an  American  ship  of  war,  called  the  Bon  Homme 
Richard,  of  40  guns,  and  375  men,  commanded  by  Capr. 


104  rsAVAL  HEROEb. 

Paul  Jones  ;  the  other  frigate  which  engaged  us  proved  to 
be  the  Alliance,  of  40  guns,  and  300  men  ;  and  the  third 
frigate,  which  engaged  and  took  the  Countess  of  Scarbo- 
rough, after  two  hours  action,  to  be  the  Pallas,  a  French 
frigate  of  32  guns  and  275  men  ;  the  Vengeance,  an  armed 
brig  of  12  guns  and  70  men,  all  in  Congress  service,  and 
under  the  command  of  Paul  Jones.  They  fitted  out  and 
sailed  from  Port  l'Onent  the  latter  end  of  July,  and  came 
north  about  ;  they  had  on  board  300  English  prisoners 
which  they  have  taken  in  different  vessels  in  their  way 
round,  since  they  left  France,  and  have  ransomed  some 
others.  On  my  going  on  board  the  Bonne  Homme  Richard, 
I  found  her  in  the  greatest  distress  ;  her  quarter  and  coun- 
ter on  the  lower  deck  entirely  drove  in,  and  the  whole  of 
her  lower  deck  guns  dismounted  ;  she  was  also  on  fire  in  two 
places,  and  six  or  seven  feet  water  in  her  hold,  which  kept 
increasing  upon  them  all  night  and  the  next  day,  till  they 
were  obliged  to  quit  her,  and  she  sunk  with  a  great  number 
of  her  wounded  people  on  board  her.  She  had  306  men 
killed  and  wounded  in  the  action  ;  our  loss  in  the  Seraphis 
was  also  very  great.  My  officers  and  people  in  general 
behaved  well,  and  I  should  be  very  remiss  in  my  attention 
to  their  merit  were  I  to  omit  recommending  the  remains  of 
them  to  their  lordships'  favour.  I  must  at  the  same  time 
beg  leave  to  inform  their  lordships  that  Capt.  Piercy,  in  the 
Countess  of  Scarborough,  was  not  in  the  least  remiss  in  his 
duty,  he  having  given  me  every  assistance  in  his  power, 
and  as  much  as  could  be  expected  from  such  a  ship,  in  en- 
gaging the  attention  of  the  Pallas,  a  frigate  of  32  guns,  du- 
ring the  whole  action. 

I  am  extremely  sorry  for  the  misfortune  that  has  happen- 
ed, that  of  losing  his  Majesty's  ship  I  had  the  honor  to  com- 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  105 

iiiand  ;  but  at  the  same  time,  I  flatter  myself  with  the 
hopes,  that  their  lordships  will  be  convinced  that  she  has 
not  been  given  away  ;  but  on  the  contrary,  that  every  ex- 
ertion has  been  used  to  defend  her  :  and  that  two  essential 
pieces  of  service  to  our  country  have  arisen  from  it  ;  the 
one  in  wholly  oversetting  the  cruise  and  intentions  of  this 
flying  squadron  ;  the  other  in  rescuing  the  whole  of  a  val- 
uable convoy  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy, 
which  must  have  been  the  case  had  I  acted  otherwise  than 

1  did.  We  have  been  driven  about  in  the  North  Sea  ever 
since  the  action,  endeavouring  to  make  to  any  port  we  pos- 
sibly could,  but  have  not  been  able  to  get  into  any  place 
till  to-day  we  arrived  in  the  Texel. 

Herewith  I  inclose  you  the  most  exact  list  of  the  killed 
and  wounded  I  have  been  able  to  procure,  from  my  people 
being  dispersed  amongst  the  different  ships,  and  having 
been  refused  permission  to  muster  them.  There  are,  I 
find,  many  more,  both  killed  and  wounded,  than  appears  in 
the  inclosed  list,  but  their  names  as  yet  I  find  impossible  to 
ascertain  ;  as  soon  as  I  possibly  can,  I  shall  give  your 
Lordships  a  full  account  of  the  whole. 

I  am,  Sir,  your  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant, 

R.  Pearson. 

P.  S.  I  am  refused  permission  to  wait  on  Sir  Joseph 
Yorke,  and  even  to  go  on  shore. 

Abstract  of  the  list  of  killed  and  wounded. 
Killed,  49.     Wounded,  68. 

Among  the  killed  are  boatswain,  pilot,  1  master's  mate, 

2  midshipmen,  the  coxswain,  1  quarter-master,  27  seamen, 
and  15  marines.  Among  the  wounded  are  the  second 
lieutenant,  Michael  Stanhope,  and  Lieut.  Whitman,  second 
lieutenant  of  marines,  2  surgeon's  mates,  6  petty  officers,  46 
aeamen,  and  12  marines." 


106  NAVAL  HEROES. 

From  other  publications  of  that  period,  and  from  the 
writings  of  Com.  Jones,  the  following  facts  may  safely  be 
relied  upon  as  authentic. 

The  action  commenced  at  7  P.  M.  within  pistol  shot. 
The  Richard  sustained  it  for  an  hour  and  was  on  the  point 
of  sinking.  Any  body  but  John  Paul  Jones,  and  David 
Porter  would  have  struck  ;  but,  in  a  state  of  desperation, 
he  grappled  the  Seraphis  ;  and,  with  his  own  hands,  fasten- 
ed the  Richard  to  that  ship.  In  a  short  time,  every  one 
of  her  guns,  except  four,  upon  the  forecastle,  were  burst, 
or  rendered  useless.  Com.  Jones  repaired  there  himself: 
and  although  dark,  he  could  discover  the  yellow  mainmast, 
of  the  Seraphis,  at  which  he  fired  with  great  effect.  The 
swivels,  grenades,  and  musketry  in  the  tops  of  the  Richard 
were  annoying  the  crew  of  the  Seraphis  in  a  terrible  man- 
ner. The  fire  from  her  almost  ceased,  when  a  panic  struck 
the  surviving  crew  of  the  Richard,  from  losing  the  use  of 
one  of  the  pumps  by  a  shot.  A  report  run  through  the 
ship  that  Com.  Jones  and  the  only  Lieutenant  were  slain. 
The  gunner  ascended  the  quarter  deck  to  strike  the  flag  ; 
and  there  found  the  undismayed  Commodore,  working  his 
three  remaining  guns. 

The  admiration  of  the  Captain  of  the  Seraphis  was  ex- 
cited to  the  highest  pitch,  at  the  dauntless  courage  of  Jones, 
and  he  exclaimed  to  him,  "  I  give  you  an  opportunity  to 
strike  ;  if  you  do  not,  I  will  sink  you  at  the  next  broadside." 
The  indignant  Jones  replied,  in  a  rage, — "Sink  me  if  you 
can — if  I  must  go  to  the  devil,  I  had  rather  strike  to  him 
than  to  you."  The  Alliance  came  up  ;  and  from  the  ex- 
cessive darkness  of  the  night,  and  the  unusual  closeness  of 
the  action,  injured  the  Richard  more  than  she  did  the  Se- 
raphis.    (See  preceding  letter.)     The  battle  continued  to 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  107 

i age  in  a  manner  not  equalled  in  ancient  or  modern  naval 
warfare,  unless  it  were  in  the  action  of  the  Essex  with  the 
Ph<ebe  and  Cherub  in  1813.  Towards  the  close  of  it,  a 
seaman  in  the  tops  of  the  Richard,  seized  a  bucket  of  hand 
grenades ;  and,  with  a  lighted  match,  passed  along  the  main 
yard,  until  he  was  directly  over  the  deck  of  the  Seraphis. 
He  then  let  them  off  one  at  a  time,  to  the  terror  and  con- 
sternation of  the  crew.  Com.  Jones,  with  his  three  little 
guns  had  shot  away  the  mainmast  of  the  Seraphis.  The 
commander  then  called  for  quarters,  and  struck  his  flag. 

The  gallant  and  proud  commander  of  the  Seraphis,  with 
his  officers,  now  approached  Com.  Jones,  who  was  in  the 
habiliment  of  a  common  seaman  ;  and  presented  him  with 
his  sword. 

This  was  at  1 1  P.  M.  Ten  of  Jones'  seamen  escaped  in 
a  shallop,  and  were  afterwards  examined  by  English  mag- 
istrates. The  Richard,  after  every  exertion  to  save  her 
and  carry  her  into  port,  as  an  object  of  curiosity,  went  to 
the  bottom  two  days  after  the  battle,  carrying  to  the  bottom 
all  the  property  of  Jones,  excepting  what  he  was  to  derive 
from  the  prizes,  which  he  had  sent  into  French  ports  ;  from 
these,  however  he  obtained  nothing  until  after  the  peace 
between  America  and  England. 

The  admiralty  of  Britain  sent  out  more  than  forty  ves- 
sels of  different  classes,  to  capture  Com.  Jones. 

The  following  extract  from  an  English  paper,  points  out 
the  following  as  a  part  of  them.  >"  Portsmouth,  Monday 
afternoon,  Sept.  13,  1779.  Sir  John  Lockhart  Ross  hav- 
ing struck  his  flag  from  on  board  the  Royal  George,  and 
hoisted  it  on  board  the  Romney,  has  this  instant  got  under 
way,  with  the  Berwick  of  74  guns,  the  Hon.  Keith  Stewart ; 
the  Biensfaisant,  of  64,  Capt.  M'Bride  ;  the  Jupiter  of  50, 


108  NAVAL  HEROES. 

Captain  Reynolds  ;  and  the  following  frigates,  viz.  Diana. 
Phoenix,  Southampton,  Ambuscade,  Crescent,  Milford,  Bril- 
liant, and  Porcupine  ;  the  Bonetta,  Cormorant,  and  Hele- 
na sloops  ;  the  Griflin,  and  Nimble  cutters ;  and  Firebrand 
and  Incendiary  fireships." 

It  is  a  circumstance,  not  unworthy  of  notice,  that  the 
"Milford"  which  twice  before,  in  1776,  had  encountered 
Jones  upon  the  American  coast,  was  one  of  this  fleet. 

An  European  statesman,  under  date  of  Nov.  19,1779, 
says  "  The  Dutch  seem  at  present  entirely  to  disregard 
Great  Britain  ;  notwithstanding  Sir  Joseph  Yorke's  memo- 
rials, they  allow  Captain  Paul  Jones  to  refit  his  little  squad- 
ron, and  give  him  every  assistance  possible  ;  nay,  he  is 
even  allowed  possession  of  a  small  fort  in  the  Texel,  in 
which  he  has  put  his  sick  and  wounded  seamen, — his  own 
marines  constantly  mount  guard,  and  Continental  colours 
are  hoisted.  The  English  do  him  the  honour  to  attend 
with  eight  ships  at  the  south  and  four  at  the  north  entrance 
of  the  Texel  to  watch  his  motions."  It  may  be  added— 
the  Dutch  peremptorily  refused  to  deliver  up  the  Seraphis. 
and  Countess  of  Scarborough,  when  demanded. 

He  shifted  his  flag  to  the  Alliance,  American  frigate  ; 
and,  in  view  of  the  British  Squadron  in  the  Downs,  effect- 
ed his  passage  to  Corunna,  in  France,  where  he  arrived 
in  the  height  of  glory,  and  in  the  depth  of  bankruptcy,  in 
January  1780.  He  soon  after  repaired  to  Paris — was  re- 
ceived by  Doct.  Franklin  with  distinction — at  public  pla- 
ces with  applause,  and  finally  had  an  audience  with  Louis 
XVI!! 

It  excites  a  smile  at  this  period  that  the  appearance  of 
Jones  upon  the  coast  of  England,  in  1 779  with  an  ill-fitted 
little  squadron  should  have  excited  such  consternation, 


I.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  109 

when,  id  lt>05,  they  treated  with  sovereign  contempt  the 
vast  preparation  of  Bonaparte  to  effect  a  landing.  But 
while  they  feared  him  as  a  gallant  ocean-warrior,  they 
were  compelled  to  admire  hirn  for  his  magnanimity.  He 
never  made  war  upon  defenceless  villages,  or  drove  the 
harmless  cottagers  houseless  and  destitute  into  a  cruel 
world.  To  repel  the  infamous  aspersions  of  his  infamous 
British  biographer,  who  calls  him  the  "  American  Corsair," 
I  will  here  present  the  reader  with  a  few  extracts  from 
more  dignified  British  writers  who  dared  to  speak  the  truth 
of  Americans  and  of  Jones,  in  the  face  of  a  corrupt  and 
imperious  court.  The  commendation,  coming  from  an 
enemy,  is  doubly  valuable.  The  following  is  from  a  Lon- 
don Gazette  of  Sept.  1779. 

"  By  an  examination  of  the  four  men  belonging  to  one 
of  Paul  Jones'  squadron,  before  the  mayor  and  magistrates 
of  Hull,  it  appears  that  Jones'  orders  were  not  to  burn  any 
houses  or  tozons.  What  an  example  of  honour  and  great- 
ness does  America  thus  shew  to  us !  while  our  troops  are 
running  about  from  town  to  town  on  their  coasts,  and 
burning  every  thing  with  a  wanton,  wicked  and  deliberate 
barbarity.  Dr.  Franklin  gives  no  orders  to  retaliate.  He 
is  above  it.  And  there  was  a  time  when  an  English  Min- 
ister would  have  disdained  to  make  war  in  so  villainous  a 
mode.  It  is  a  disgrace  to  the  nation.  But  notwithstand- 
ing the  moderation  hitherto  shewn  by  the  Americans  upon 
our  coast,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  moderation  will  cease  in  a 
little  time. 

"  Paul  Jones  could  have  burned  Leith  the  other  day  with 

the  greatest  ease,  and  another  little  town  near  it ;  but  his 

orders  were  peremptory  not  to  burn  any  town.     Bute  and 

Knox  must  whitewash  Lord  George  Germain,  and  say. 

16 


110  NAVAL  HEROES. 

that  the  burning  the  towns  lately  in  America,  was  not  done 
by  his  orders.     Falsehood  agrees  with  all  their  characters* 

"  Many  of  the  particulars  of  the  burning  the  two  towns 
in  Connecticut,  viz.  Fairfield  and  Norwalk,  have  been  re- 
ceived, but  they  are  too  shocking  to  relate.  The  brutality 
and  cruelty  of  the  soldiers  in  several  instances,  are  too 
dreadful,  as  well  as  unfit  to  be  printed.  These  horrible, 
scenes  are  an  indelible  scandal  to  our  arms.  And  the 
ministers  and  officers,  who  can  order  and  execute  such 
proceedings,  must  be  detested  by  all  mankind," 

Another  London  Gazette  of  the  same  month  thus  pours 
forth  the  language  of  indignation  : 

"  What  will  be  the  consequence  of  burning  Fairfield  and 
Norwalk  ?  Paul  Jones  h3s  done  no  mischief  yet :  But  had 
he  known  of  the  burning  of  these  towns,  is  it  not  probable 
he  would  have  burned  Leith  and  Hull  ?  They  were  as 
completely  at  his  mercy.  When  this  burning  business 
comes  to  be  retaliated  upon  our  own  coasts,  we  shall  thea 
see  our  ministers'  scribblers  expatiating  upon  the  cruelty 
of  it,  of  its  being  contrary  to  the  rules  of  war,  &c.  and  those 
public  prints,  which  are  paid  and  bribed  by  the  public 
money,  for  deserting  and  betraying  the  public  interest, 
who  print  every  he  for  ministers,  but  refuse  every  truth 
against  them,  will  be  the  foremost  to  publish  those  com- 
plaints, which  they  now  approve  in  others.  The  nation 
cannot  be  misled  much  longer  ;  the  tricks  of  the  court  in 
buying  up  the  newspapers,  and  sending  about  their  runners, 
are  become  so  obvious,  people  cannot  now  be  duped  by 
them  as  they  have  been." 

The  French  minister  of  Marine,  now  furnished  Com. 
Jones  with  the  Ariel  of  20  guns,  a  king's  ship,  in  which  he 
sailed  for  America,  in  October,  1780.     On  his  passage  he 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  ill 

,^ed  and  captured  the  British  ^hip  Triumph,  of  20  guns. 
He  arrived  in  America  early  in  the  year  1781. 

He  repaired  to  Philadelphia,  where  the  highest  honours 
awaited  him.  In  April,  1781,  Congress  passed  a  vote  of 
thanks  "  For  the  zeal,  the  prudence,  and  the  intrepidityj 
with  which  he  sustained  the  honour  of  the  American  flag  ; 
for  his  bold  and  successful  enterprise,  with  a  view  to  re- 
deem from  captivity  the  citizens  of  America,  who  had  fal- 
len into  the  hands  of  the  English  ;  and  for  the  eminent 
services  by  which  he  had  added  lustre  to  his  own  character 
and  his  associates." 

That  august  body,  also  presented  him  with  a  Gold  Med- 
al, as  a  token  of  the  high  estimation  in  which  he  was  heid 
by  the  Congress  of  the  American  Republic. 

At  this  time,  the  long  and  arduous  contest  between  Amer- 
ica and  Britain  was  drawing  to  a  clos^e  by  the  resistless  and 
powerful  attitude  in  which  the  American  Republic  appear- 
ed. Britain,  instead  of  devastating  what  she  stiil  called  her 
American  Colonies  by  armies,  fleets,  conflagration,  massa- 
cres, and  destruction,  was  now  willing  to  acknowledge 
their  Independence,*  and  enter  into  negotiations  for  peace. 
But  until  a  definitive  treaty  of  Peace  was  concluded,  the 
active  spirit  of  Jones  could  not  rest. 

A  ship  of  the  line,  the  America,  of  74  guns,  had  been 
built,  designed  for  Com.  Jones  ;  but  she  was  presented  to 
Louis  XVI.  to  supply  the  place  of  the  Magninque,  French 
74,  lost  on  the  American  coast. 

*  In  a  London  paper,  the  beginning-  of  1 7K0,  is  this  paragraph.  "  A 
cessation  of  arms  has  again  been  proposed  on  the  part  of  France  and 
the  rebel  Colonies,  through  the  mediation  of  the  King  of  Sardinia, 
which  the  British  cabinet  have  refused  to  listen  to,  unless  the  depend- 
ence of  America  on  the  parent  state,  be  made  the  ground  work  of 
such  cessation." 


112  NAVAL  HEROEb. 

He  now  entered  the  Triumphant,  flag  ship,  of  the  Mar 
quis  D'Vandreuil, — was  received  with  the  utmost  distinc- 
tion, and  assigned  to  one  of  the  highest  births  on  board. 
The  object  of  the  Marquis's  expedition  was  prevented  by 
a  general  peace,  by  which  the  Independence  of  the  Amer- 
ican btates  was  fully  acknowledged.  Jones  returned  to 
America  to  enjoy  the  political  Independence  of  the  Repub- 
lic; but  as  to  that  independence  which  arises  from  wealth, 
he  could  not  enjoy  it,  for  he  was  in  possession  of  none. 
His  wealth  was  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic.  In  1783, 
he  went  to  France — obtained  for  himself  his  officers  and 
seamen  the  full  amount  of  prize-money  due  them,  and  re- 
turned to  the  bosom  of  his  adopted  country,  to  enjoy  the 
blessings  of  that  freedom  which  he  had  so  gallantly  and  un- 
ceasingly aided  in  obtaining. 

He  selected  the  then  new  state  of  Kentucky,  as  his  place 
of  residence.  In  the  midst  of  a  high-minded  and  noble 
race  of  Americans,  he  enjoyed  the  inestimable  blessings  of 
a  free  government  ;  and  lived  long  enough  to  behold  the 
Republic  rise  from  a  state  of  political  infancy,  to  the  ma- 
jestic state  of  national  greatness. 

He  closed  his  active,  eventful,  and  diversified  life  in  1801, 
at  the  age  of  fifty-three  years  ;  leaving  an  example  to  the 
youth  of  his  native  and  his  adopted  country,  of  the  aston- 
ishing effects  resulting  from  "  decision  of  character."  The 
foibles  of  his  early  life  serve  as  beacons  to  avoid  the  rocks 
and  quicksands  of  rash  precipitation.  His  whole  life,  most 
clearly  evinces,  that  the  most  humble  birth,  and  disheart- 
ening circumstances,  furnish  no  insuperable  obstacle  against 
an  ardent  and  determined  spirit,  and  a  decided  character. 


COM.  JOHN   PAUL  JONES.  113 

ADDENDA  TO  THE  PRECEDING  SKETCH. 

Persuaded  that  the  reader  will  be  gratified  with  Europe- 
an details,  both  English  and  French,  concerning  the  daring 
expedition  of  Com.  Jones,  I  present  them  exactly  as  pub- 
lished in  (heir  papers  in  1779.  It  will  serve  the  double 
purpose  of  confirming  the  preceding  sketch,  and  also  to 
ihow,  that  the  hireling  editors  of  his  Majesty  in  London, 
under  Lord  Germaine,  could  traduce  and  slander  Ameri- 
can champions,  as  well  as  the  "  royal  printer"  Rivington 
in  the  city  of  New  York  under  Sir  William  Howe. 
Extract  of  a  letter  from  Scarbro,  Sept.  21,  1779. 

"  Yesterday  a  ship  (1  two  decker)  a  frigate,  a  sloop  and 
a  cutter,  appeared  about  a  mile  oil"  the  Pier,  supposed  to 
be  French  ;  they  fired  at  several  ships,  took  two,  and  obli- 
ged two  others  to  run  into  the  harbour,  damaging  their 
rigging  and  sails,  by  keeping  a  continual  fire  after  them  ; 
they  then  steered  their  course  to  the  northward." 

Sept.  27.  A  letter  from  Sunderland,  dated  the  20th  of 
September  says,  "  that  an  express  arrived  there  the  18th 
from  Aymouth,  with  information,  that  Paul  Jones  was 
off  there,  with  five  sail  of  ships  of  war,  and  2000  troops  on 
board;  that  on  the  19th  they  appeared  off  Sunderland, 
and  came  up  within  two  miles,  which  put  the  inhabitants 
into  great  confusion,  as  they  expected  them  to  land  every 
hour,  or  destroy  the  ships  in  the  harbour.  The  inhabi- 
tants and  soldiers  got  immediately  under  arms,  and  contin- 
ued so  at  the  writing  of  the  letter,  as  they  were  still  in 
sight." 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  Stockton,  Sept,  21. 

"  Copy  of  an  express  which  arrived  here  this  day  from 
Sunderland,  dated  September  21.. 

"  The  under  mentioned  ships  having  appeared  off  this 


114  NAVAL  HEROES. 

place  under  the  command  of  Paul  Jones,  we  have  sent  the 
bearers  to  inform  all  light  colliers  they  may  meet  with,  to 
take  harbour  as  soon  as  possible,  and  there  to  remain  till 
they  receive  advices  of  their  being  off  the  coast ;  the  bear- 
ers are  to  proceed  to  Bridlington  with  all  speed.  Two 
ships  appearing  to  be  50  guns  each  ;  one  frigate  about  40 
guns  :  one  brig,  like  a  collier;  two  sloops ;  one  snow,  and 
one  brig  both  armed.  E.  Linshell,        J.  Young, 

J.  Marshall,       J.  Smith." 

On  Saturday  noon,  two  gentlemen  of  the  corporation  ol 
Hull,  arrived  express  at  the  Admiralty  with  the  alarming 
account,  that  the  celebrated  American  corsair,  Paul  Jones, 
had  entered  the  river  Humber  on  Thursday  last,  and  chased 
a  vessel  to  within  a  mile  of  the  Pier,  where  he  sunk,  burn- 
ed and  destroyed  16  sail  of  valuable  vessels,  which  threw 
the  whole  town  and  neighbourhood  into  the  utmost  con- 
sternation ;  as  a  very  few  men  in  armed  boats,  might  have 
laid  the  town  in  ashes.  He  had  taken  nine  or  ten  colliers 
and  other  vessels  a  day  or  two  before  he  appeared  at  Hull  ; 
one  of  which,  being  left  to  the  charge  of  only  four  men, 
her  former  crew  rose  upon  them,  and  cairied  the  vessel  in- 
to a  port  near  Hull ;  and  which  men  state  the  strength  oi 
his  squadron  to  be  as  follows  : 

A  Boston  built  frigate  with  40  guns  upon  one  deck. 
(Jones'  ship.) 

A  French  ship  (an  old  Indiaman,)  of  44  guns. 

Two  American  frigates  of  32  guns  each,  new. 

One  20  gun  ditto. 

Two  brigantines  of  18  guns,  and  two  small  tenders. 
Some  of  this  squadron  conducted  the  prizes  they  had  made 
to  the  coast  of  France,  and  returned  to  Hull  the  Friday 
noon,  attended  by  other  Dunkirk  privateers. 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  Hi, 

On  Saturday  night  another  express  arrived  at  the  Admi- 
ralty from  Hull,  (which  set  out  at  three  in  the  morning) 
with  (he  further  disagreeable  intelligence,  that  Paul  Joncsr 
squadron,  after  having  done  more  mischief  in  the  shipping 
on  Friday,  had  fell  in  with  the  Baltic  fleet,  (for  which  pur- 
pose he  principally  ventured  to  cruise  in  the  North  Channel) 
and  had  taken  their  convoy,  the  Seraphis  man  of  war,  of  44 
guns,  Capt.  Pearson,  and  the  armed  ship  hired  to  govern- 
ment by  a  gentleman  of  Hull  called  the  Countess  of  Scar- 
borough, Capt.  Percy,  of  24  guns.  This  action  was  seen 
by  thousands  of  spectators,  and  the  last  express  was  des- 
patched in  consequence  of  it,  and  seeing  the  other  ships  of 
Jones'  squadron  making  havock  among  the  fleet ;  most  of 
which,  however,  had  taken  shelter  near  Fiamborough  and 
the  Head. 

From  the  four  captured  Americans  it  was  discovered 
that  this  fleet  sailed  with  stores  for  three  months,  from 
Brest  the  beginning  of  August ;  and  that  two  other  small 
squadrons  were  to  sail  soon  after  them  for  the  coasts  of 
Ireland  and  Wales.  They  were  all  in  the  service  of  the 
Congress,  and  few  or  no  French  seamen  on  board. 

Their  plan  generally  was  to  alarm  the  coasts  of  Wales, 
Ireland,  the  western  parts  of  Scotland,  and  the  North  Chan- 
nel, while  the  combined  fleets  kept  Sir  Charles  Hardy  at 
bay  to  the  westward.  Jones  took  several  prizes  on  the 
coast  of  Ireland,  particularly  two  armed  transports  with 
stores  for  New  York,  in  the  North  Seas,  and  near  the  Firth 
of  Forth,  and  had  it  in  his  power  to  burn  Leith  ;  but  his 
orders  are  only  to  destroy  shipping.  His  squadron  is  now 
but  weakly  manned,  owing  to  the  great  number  of  prizes 
he  has  taken,  arid  it  will  likely  fall  an  easy  conquest  to  the 
16  sail  of  men  of  war  who  have  orders  to  go  after  him. 


11G  NAVAL  HEROES. 

The  Seraphis,  man  of  war,  lost  her  main-mast,  bowsprit, 
and  mizen  top  mast,  before  she  struck  ;  and  the  Countess 
of  Scarborough  made  an  exceeding  good  defence  against 
one  of  the  32  gun  frigates.  The  enemy's  44  gun  ship  was 
not  in  the  action,  and  the  Seraphis  struck  to  Jones'  ship 
and  the  other  32  gun  frigate. 

Expresses  also  arrived  on  Saturday  from  Sunderland, 
stating  that  Paul  Jones  had  taken  1 6  sail  of  colliers. 

In  consequence  of  the  capture  of  so  many  colliers,  and 
the  interception  of  the  trade  ;  the  price  of  coals  will  be 
enormous. 

Instead  of  having  the  dominion  of  the  sea,  it  is  now  evi- 
dent that  we  are  not  able  to  defend  our  own  coast  from 
depredations. 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  Newcastle,  Sept.  25. 

"  The  little  squadron  commanded  by  Paul  Jones,  after 
leaving  the  Firth  of  Forth,  directed  its  course  along  the 
coast  southward,  and  excited  no  small  fears  in  the  inhabit- 
ants along  shore  as  they  passed.  About  five  on  Sunday 
afternoon,  they  appeared  ofFTynmouth,  and  after  parading 
a  while  in  the  offing,  proceeded  onwards  to  Sunderland, 
and  so  much  alarmed  the  inhabitants  of  that  place,  that 
many  of  them  immediately  had  their  valuable  effects  buri- 
ed in  the  earth,  or  conveyed  up  the  country.  The  militia 
there  beat  to  arms,  and,  with  many  of  the  town's  people, 
lined  the  shore  until  the  next  morning  :  but  no  descent 
was  attempted,  the  enemy  continued  their  course  to  the 
southward. 

"  The  Emerald  frigate  of  32  guns,  appeared  off  Sunder- 
land on  Monday  morning,  when  four  fry-boat  men  were 
sent  off  to  her,  to  give  information  of  the  above  squadron  ; 
the  sea  running  exceeding  high  at  the  time  made  the  spec- 


COM.  JOHN   PAUL  JONES.  11? 

tators  on  shore  fear  much  for  their  safety  ;  but  happily  they 
e llec ted  their  errand,  and  were  kindly  received  on  board. 

"  Monday  the  Content  sailed  from  Shields,  and  joined 
the  Emerald  frigate  to  go  in  quest  of  the  above  squadron. 

"  The  following  particulars  are  from  the  information  of 
the  master  of  the  Speedwell  sloop,  of  Hull,  which  was  ta- 
ken and  ransomed -by  the  said  squadron,  and  who  made 
oath  to  the  fact  thereof  before  the  Mayor  of  this  town  on 
Wednesday. 

"  Sunday  last,  about  four  leagues  off  Tynmouth  bar,  the 
Speedwell  sloop  of  Hull,  and  the  Union  brig  of  Chatham, 
were  taken  by  the  Pallas,  an  American  friate  or  barque,  of 
34  nine  pounders,  in  company  with  a  two  decked  ship  of  44 
eighteen  pounders,  (name  not  known)  commanded  by  Paul 
Jones,  and  a  snow  of  14  nine  pounders,  called  the  Ven- 
geance, (master's  name  not  known.)  After  taking  them. 
Jones  and  the  master  of  the  Pallas  disagreed  concerning 
the  capture.  Jones  proposed  to  turn  the  brig  into  a  fire 
ship,  and  to  send  her  into  Shields  harbour,  to  which  the 
commander  of  the  Pallas  would  not  consent ;  the  master  of 
the  Pallas  proposed  to  ransom  the  sloop,  as  she  had  a  wo- 
man with  child  on  board,  to  which  Jones  would  not  consent. 
However,  the  next  day,  about  12  leagues  off  the  land,  be- 
tween the  Scarborough  and  Filay  Bay,  the  brig  was  plun- 
dered and  sunk,  and  the  sloop  ransomed  for  300/.  the  mate 
taken  hostage.  Jones  had  one  or  two,  and  the  Pallas  three 
or  four  English  masters,  and  a  number  of  other  prisoners 
on  board,  belonging  to  ships  that  had  been  taken  and  de- 
stroyed. The  master  of  the  sloop  said  he  was  informed 
that  Jones  had  200  marines  on  board.  Jones  declared  that 
his  orders  were  to  ransom  none,  but  to  burn,  sink,  or  de- 
stroy all.  The  master  of  the  Pallas,  in  the  ransom  bill 
17 


118  NAVAL  HEROES. 

styles  himself  thus :  "  Denis  Nicolas  Cotineau,  of  Keloguen, 
Captain  of  a  man  of  war  in  the  service  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  and  Commander  of  the  American  frigate  the 
Pallas."  They  hoisted  English  colours,  but  the  captain  of 
the  sloop  saw  that  they  had  also  American  and  Swedish  co- 
lours." 

Friday  morning  the  principal  inhabitants  of  Yarmouth 
met,  and  agreed  to  petition  the  lords  of  the  Admiralty  for  a 
number  of  ships  to  be  sent  down  for  the  better  protection 
of  that  town  and  trade. 

The  Fly  sloop  of  war,  that  beat  off  the  two  privateers 
who  engaged  him  in  hopes  of  capturing  the  packets,  allur- 
ed by  the  expectation  ofa  large  ransom  for  the  noble  pas- 
sengers, is  got  safe  into  the  Elbe.  The  Fly  carried  only 
14  guns,  and  was  scanty  of  powder.  The  privateers  were 
stoutly  manned,  and  one  of  them  carried  20  guns,  and  the 
other  13. 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  Hull,  Sept.  25. 

"  On  examination  of  one  of  the  ship's  crew  retaken  from 
Paul  Jones,  we  learn,  that  he  had  pilots  on  board  for  every 
part  of  this  coast,  from  Edinburgh  to  Harwich,  and  that  he 
had  taken  15  sail  of  vessels  ;  some  he  had  ransomed  and 
others  sent  to  France — that  he  had  500  men  on  board  his 
own  ship,  when  he  left  Brest ;  and  that  the  complements  of 
the  whole  fleet  were  above  2000  ;  that  they  had  provisions 
for  three  months,  and  an  amazing  quantity  of  military  stores, 
as  shot  and  gun  powder ;  that  the  seamen  were  exercised 
daily  with  small  arms,  in  case  of  their  going  on  shore,  as  a 
debarkation  was  intended,  when  a  convenient  place  and 
opportunity  offered ;  that  the  major  part  of  the  crews  were 
English  and  Irish,  many  of  them  taken  out  of  the  prisons  at 
Brest  and  St,  Maloes,  where  any  prisoner  was  offered  hi? 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  119 

liberty  to  serve  on  board  his  fleet — There  were  very  few 
Americans,  but  more  French,  and  some  neutrals,  as  Dutch 
and  Germans.  They  gave  them  but  small  bounties  at  first 
for  the  men  to  enter,  as  the  promises  that  were  made  them 
that  they  would  all  return  with  fortunes,  had  a  great  effect  5 
but  men  growing  scarce,  they  were  obliged  to  pay  very 
handsomely  for  them,  and  some  of  the  ships  were  obliged 
to  come  away  without  the  complement  intended,  as  they 
all  brought  more  away  than  they  had  need  to  work  the  ship 
and  fight  the  guns,  in  order  to  be  the  better  enabled  to  man 
the  prizes  they  should  take,  and  not  reduce  their  proper 
complement,  in  case  of  meeting  with  a  powerful  enemy." 

The  master  of  a  sloop  from  Harwich,  who  arrived  yes- 
terday in  the  Pool,  saw,  on  Saturday  last,  no  less  than  1 1 
sail  of  men  of  war  going  in  search  of  Paul  Jones,  and  among 
them  was  the  Edgar  of  74  guns. 

London,  October  1. 
Extract  of  a  letter  from  Scarborough,  dated  the  26th  of 
September,  1779. 

"  Last  Wednesday  the  red  flag  was  hoisted  at  the  castle, 
as  a  signal  that  the  enemy  was  in  sight.  It  proved  to  be 
Paul  Jones  and  his  squadron.  He  kept  our  coasts  several 
days,  and  spread  so  universal  a  terror,  that  the  inhabitants 
quitted  the  city.  He  cannonaded  the  town  most  severely. 
The  following  circumstances  are  mentioned  in  a  deposition 
of  a  sailor,  who  escaped  from  the  squadron:  The  squad- 
ron consisted  of  8  vessels  ;  they  sailed  from  L'Orient  to 
the  western  coast  of  Ireland,  from  thence  to  the  north 
shore  of  Scotland,  where  they  took  a  most  valuable  prize, 
bound  to  Quebec  with  military  stores,  and  a  Liverpool  let- 
ter of  marque,  and  sunk  several  colliers  near  Whitby.  Ha- 
ving cruized  six  days  between  Berwick  and  Humber.  they 


120  ^AVAL  HEROEs. 

met  the  Baltic  fleet,  escorted  by  a  40  and  a  20  gun  ship, 
They  first  attacked  Jones'  ships  ;  the  contest  continued 
four  hours,  when  Jones1  fire  was  interrupted,  but  the  Bri- 
tish man  of  war  was  finally  obliged  to  strike,  on  the  coming 
up  of  the  American  frigate  Alliance,  one  of  Jones'  squad- 
ron. Jones'  crew  were  then  obliged  to  call  for  the  boats 
of  the  Alliance,  to  save  them,  as  their  ship  was  sinking. 
This  sailor  and  six  others  took  that  opportunity  to  escape. 
They  add  the  following  particulars  :  Towards  the  end  of 
the  combat,  the  British  captain  called  to  Paul  Jones  to 
strike  or  he  wonld  sink  his  ship  the  next  broadside.  The 
intrepid  American  answered,  "  sink  me  if  you  can,  if  I 
must  go  to  the  devil,  I  had  rather  strike  to  him  than  to 
you."  Jones  fought  in  sailor's  frock  and  trowsers,  with  a 
large  girdle  round  his  waist,  in  which  hung  twelve  pistols, 
and  a  large  cutlass  in  his  hand.  The  sailors  say  they  saw 
him  blow  out  the  brains  of  seventeen  of  his  men,  for  aban- 
doning their  posts.  During  the  action  an  attempt  was 
made  by  a  few  British  desperadoes  he  had  picked  up  in 
France,  to  relieve  the  prisoners  he  had  below  decks,  with 
a  view  to  surrender  the  ship — the  Seraphis  (the  vessel  he 
now  fought  with  and  took)  was  new,  and  built  on  a  new 
construction,  sailed  wonderfully  fast,  and  was  copper  bot- 
tomed. Twenty-five  vessels  in  different  divisions  have 
been  sent  in  pursuit  of  Jones,  but  it  is  thought  he  is  gone 
towards  Norway. 

Fxtract  of  a  letter  from  L'Orient,  dated  Oct.  22,  1779,  to 
a  gentleman  in  this  city. 
"  The  gallant  behaviour  of  Capt.  Paul  Jones,  at  present 
engages  the  whole  attention  here.  In  my  last  I  informed 
you,  that  he  had  the  command  of  a  small  squadron  then  on 
a  cruise.     He  sailed  round  Ireland  and  Scotland,  spreading 


COl>I.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  121 

t error  and  devastation  in  every  part.  He  took,  burnt,  and 
sunk  a  great  number  of  vessels,  among  them  a  ship  bound 
to  Quebec,  extremely  rich. 

"  On  the  23d  of  Sept.  in  the  evening,  having  under  his 
command  the  Poor  Richard,  of  40  guns,  the  Alliance  of  3G, 
and  the  Pallas  of  28  guns  ;  he  fell  in  with  the  Baltic  fleet, 
consisting  of  about  40  sail,  under  convoy  of  the  Seraphis, 
of  44  guns,  and  the  Countess  of  Scarborough  of  20  guns  •, 
the  Pallas,  after  an  engagement  of  about  an  hour,  took  the 
latter,  and  Jones  in  the  Poor  Richard  attacked  the  former  ; 
they  fought  three  hours  and  a  half,  with  inconceivable  rage ; 
two  hours  of  which  time  they  were  fast  to  each  other,  and 
almost  all  the  time  one  or  the  other  was  on  fire. 

"  The  Poor  Richard  was  obliged  to  keep  all  her  pumps 
going  during  the  greater  part  of  the  engagement ;  it  being 
night,  and  the  two  vessels  enveloped  in  smoke,  the  Capt. 
of  the  Pallas  could  not  distinguish  which  was  friend  or  en- 
emy, so  could  give  Jones  no  assistance.  The  Alliance  lay 
out  of  gun  shot  for  the  greatest  part  of  the  engagement,  and 
when  she  came  up  to  his  assistance,  through  mistake,  in- 
stead of  firing  on  the  enemy,  gave  the  Poor  Richard  two 
broadsides,  which  killed  1 1  men,  besides  doing  other  con- 
siderable damage.*  Notwithstanding  all  this,  Jones  con- 
tinued the  engagement  until  he  obliged  her  to  strike. 

The  Seraphis  is  a  fine  new  ship,  sheathed  with  copper, 
on  an  entire  new  construction,  and  thought  to  be  the  fast- 
est sailing  vessel  in  Europe  ;  she  has  two  entire  batteries, 
the  lower  of  which  is  18  pounders  ;  so  that  she  may  be  said 
to  be  almost  double  the  force  of  the  Poor  Richard.     This 

*  This  corresponds  with  Com.  Jones  official  letter,  and  directly 
contradicts  the  British  account. 


122  NAVAL  HEROES. 

last  ship,  notwithstanding  every  assistance  from  the  others, 
sunk  the  second  morning  after  the  engagement." 

Extract  of  another  letter  from  the  same  place. 

"  Capt.  Jones  came  to  town  from  the  Texel,  and  he  it 
gone  to  the  Hague  ;  his  presence  will,  I  am  persuaded, 
embarrass  this  Republic,  and  may  probably  produce  warm 
altercations  in  the  senate. 

I  cannot  give  you  a  very  particular  account  of  the  en-' 
gagement,  only  that  the  conflict  between  the  two  ships  ex- 
ceeds description  ;  upwards  of  230  men  killed  and  wound- 
ed in  both,  and  so  shattered,  that  it  was  a  matter  of  doubt 
which  of  the  vessels  would  sink  first.  The  captain  of  the 
Seraphis,  behaved  with  great  bravery. 

"  The  Poor  Richard  with  all  the  assistance  afforded  from 
the  other  ships  after  the  action,  could  not  be  kept  above 
water,  and  Jones  had  the  mortification  to  see  her  go  down, 
not  being  able  to  save  any  material  part  of  her  stores.  He 
(it  may  be  said)  has  made  a  good  exchange,  but  he  wished 
to  have  got  the  poor  Richard  into  port,  shattered  as  she 
was,  as  a  picture  of  curiosity  and  distress." 

By  the  following  note,  it  seems  the  conjecture  relative 
to  the  Hague  was  correct. 

Yesterday  in  the  afternoon  despatches  were  sent  from 
the  Secretary  of  State's  Office  to  Sir  Joseph  Yorke  at  the 
Hague  ;  and,  it  is  reported,  that  they  contain  a  request  to 
the  States  General  to  stop  Paul  Jones  the  pirate,  and  his 
ships,  and  to  deliver  him  up  that  he  may  be  brought  to 
England,  and  punished  according  to  law. 

In  consequence  of  these  despatches,  the  following"  de- 
mand" was  made  by  Sir  Joseph. 
"  High  and  Mighty  Lords, 
<■  The  undersigned  Ambassador  Extraordinary  and  Pie- 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  123 

mpotentiary  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain,  has  the  honoi 
to  communicate  to  your  High  Mightinesses,  that  two  of  his 
Majesty's  ships,  (the  Seraphis  and  Countess  of  Scarbo- 
rough)  arrived  some  days  ago  in  the  Texel,  having  been 
attacked  and  taken  by  force,  by  a  certain  Paul  Jones,  a 
subject  of  the  King,  who  according  to  treaties  and  the  laws. 
of  war  can  only  be  considered  as  a  rebel  and  a  pirate. 
The  undersigned  is  therefore  in  duty  bound  to  recur  to 
your  High  Mightinesses,  and  demand  their  immediate  or- 
ders that  those  ships  with  their  oflicers  and  crews  may  be 
stopped,  and  he  especially  recommends  to  your  humanity, 
to  permit  the  wounded  to  be  brought  on  shore,  that  proper 
attention  may  be  paid  to  them  at  the  expense  of  the  King 
his  master. 

YORKE." 
What  ineffable  contempt  must  Americans  have  felt 
towards  the  ministry  of  Great  Britain  at  that  period  when 
their  prostituted  presses  were  whining  forth  their  piteous 
wailings  and  lamentations,  for  the  loss  of  a  few  armed 
ships  which  would  weaken  their  marine — a  few  merchant- 
men, which  would  diminish  their  treasury  ;  and  a  (ew 
"  Colliers,"  which  would  make  "  the  price  of  coals  enor- 
mous ?"  What  puerile  gasconade  was  it  to  pronounce  the 
fearless,  the  intrepid,  and  magnanimous  Jones,  the  Ameri- 
can Corsair,  Rebel  and  Pirate,  when  he,  scrupulously 
kept  within  the  recognized  boundaries  of  civilized  war- 
fare, and  never  applied  the  torch,  to  even  a  sheep-cote. 
Nevertheless,  he  had  every  personal  reason  to  feel  a  spirit 
of  revenge  against  Englishmen.  He  had  been  impressed 
aboard  their  ships, — abused — compelled  to  fight  his  friends 
— had  been  swindled  by  sharpers,  and  driven  from  the 
kingdom.     But  the  American  Commodore,  forgot  the  in- 


124  WAVAL  HEROES. 

juries  of  John  Paul  Jones.  He  fought  in  the  cause  of  free- 
dom, of  religion,  and  humanity,  against  despotism,  super- 
stition, and  barbarity  ;  and  he  fought  in  a  manner  worthy 
the  cause  he  espoused. 

Let  the  tables  be  reversed,  and  for  a  moment  examine 
what  kind  of  warfare  was  carried  on  in  America  at  the  very 
time.  Com.  Jones  was  conquering  ships  of  war,  capturing 
privateers,  taking  forts,  spiking  cannon,  and  making  prizes 
of  merchantmen  on  the  coast  of  Britain.  Let  the  follow- 
ing proclamation  of  an  incendiary  knight  of  Britain  be 
read  with  the  highest  indignation  by  Americans,  and  with 
the  deepest  shame  by  Englishmen. 
"  By  Commodore  Sir  George  Collier,  Commander  in  Chief 

of  his  Majesty's  ships  and  vessels  in  North  America, 

and  Major   General  William   Tryon,  commanding  his 

Majesty's  Land  Forces  on  a  separate  expedition. 
Address  to  the  Inhabitants  of  Connecticut. 

"  The  ungenerous  and  wanton  insurrection  against  the 
sovereignty  of  Great  Britain  into  which  this  colony  has 
been  deluded  by  the  artifices  of  designing  men,  for  private 
purposes,  might  well  justify  you  in  every  fear,  which  con- 
scious guilt  could  form  respecting  the  intentions  of  the  pre- 
sent armament. 

Your  towns,  your  property,  yourselves,  lie  within  the 
grasp  of  that  power,  whose  forbearance  you  have  ungen- 
erously construed  into  fear ;  but  whose  lenity  has  persisted 
in  its  mild  and  noble  efforts,  even  tho'  branded  with  the 
most  unworthy  imputation. 

The  existence  of  a  single  habitation  on  your  defenceless 
coast,  ought  to  be  a  constant  reproof  to  your  ingratitude. 
Can  the  strength  of  your  whole  province  cope  with  the 
force  which  might  at  any  time  be  poured  through  every 


CQM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  126 

•listnct  in  your  country  ?  You  arc  conscious  it  cannot. 
Why  then  will  you  persist  in  a  ruinous  and  ill  judged  resis- 
tance ?  We  hoped  thai  you  would  recover  from  the  frenz\ 
which  has  distracted  this  unhappy  country  ;  and  we  be- 
lieve the  day  to  be  now  come,  when  the  greater  part  of 
this  continent  begin  to  blush  at  their  delusion.  You  who 
lie  so  much  in  our  power,  afford  the  most  striking  monument 
of  mercy,  and  therefore  ought  to  set  the  first  example  of  re- 
turning allegiance. 

Reflect  on  what  gratitude  requires  of  you  ;  if  that  is  in- 
sufficient to  move  you,  attend  to  your  own  interest:  we 
offer  you  a  refuge  against  the  distress,  which  you  univer- 
sally acknowledge  broods  with  increasing  and  intolerable 
weight  over  all  your  country. 

Leaving  you  to  consult  with  each  other  upon  this  invi- 
tation, we  do  now  declare,  that  whosoever  shall  be  found 
and  remain  in  peace  at  his  usual  place  of  residence,  shall 
be  shielded  from  any  insult  either  in  person  or  property, 
excepting  such  as  bear  offices  either  civil  or  military,  un- 
der your  present  usurped  governments  ;  of  whom  it  will 
be  further  required,  that  they  shall  give  proofs  of  their 
penitence  and  submission,  and  they  shall  then  partake  of 
the  like  immunity. 

Those  whose  folly  and  obstinacy  may  slight  this  favour- 
able warning,  must  take  notice,  that  they  are  not  to  ex- 
pect a  continuance  of  that  lenity  which  their  inveteracy- 
would  now  render  blameable. 

Given  onboard  his  Majesty's  ship  Camilla,  in  the  Sound. 

July  4,  1779. 

George  Collier, 
Wm.  Tryon."* 

*  The  following  Hudibrastic  version  of  this  proclamation  appeared 
originally  in  the  Connecticut  Courant,  published  by  Hudson  and  Good- 
18 


j  26  NAVAL  HEROES. 

The  addition  of  William  Trjon's  name,  ex-governor  of 
.New  York,  shews  that  the  army  and  navy  of  Great  Britain 

win,  July  27,  1779,  the  leading  Gazette  in  New  England,  in  the  re- 
volutionary war.  The  production  carries  strong  internal  evidence' 
that  it  emanated  from  the  same  "  Connecticut  Butler"  who  produced 
that  inimitable  burlesque  poem — "  M'Fingal." 

"  By  Collier  George,  Sir  commodore, 

Of  all  the  ships  that  line  this  shore  ; 

Of  vessels  too,  and  all  the  squadron. 

In  North  America,  the  Lord  on  : 

And  Major  General  Tryon  Billy, 

Of  separate  party  sent  to  kill  ye : 

The  Royal,  mighty,  arch  director. 

And  of  the  Tories  kind  protector. 

To  all  Connecticut  folks  greeting, 

Let  this  address  save  you  a  beating. 
When  people  blinded  by  delusion, 

Have  set  the  world  in  dire  confusiou  : 

When  factious  freemen  dare  cabal 

Against  the  Royal  must  and  shall  ; 

The  conscious  rogues  may  well  feel  chilly. 

At  the  approach  of  George  and  Billy. 

You  see  until  the  time  that  now  is, 

We  hare  forborne  t'exert  our  prowess  : 

Thankless  rebels  !  with  wanton  sneer, 

You've  construed  mildness  into  fear ; 

When  long  ago  you  might  have  lost 

Each  house  and  barn  upon  your  coast. 

Each  moment  now  a  force  at  hand, 

Might  spread  wild  horror  through  the  land 

Nor  all  your  vile  militia  rabble, 

Could  cope  with  Britons  in  the  squabble. 

Why  then  resist  almighty  force, 

And  every  day  grow  worse  and  worse  ? 

We  waited  long  that  we  might  then  see 

If  you'd  recover  from  your  frenzy ; 

And  we  believe  the  day  now  present. 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  127 

produced  twin  Goths  in  Collier  and  Tryon  in  the  first,  and 
Cockburn  and  Ross  in  the  second  war  with  Britain. 

Let  the  American  reader  peruse  this  short  extract  from 

When  all  from  Congress  down  to  peasant, 

Who've  not  obtain'd  the  king's  protection, 

Begin  to  blush  at  their  defection. 

All  those  in  reach  of  cannon  shot, 

We  can  destroy  as  well  as  not. 

Since  you're  expos'd  to  British  power, 

And  death's  before  you  every  hour, 

And  not  recover'd  from  your  blindness, 

You're  striking  proofs  of  British  kindness. 

The  wings  of  mercy  you've  not  flew  to, 

And  must  find  shelter  with  old  Pluto, 

A  dismal  cloud  with  vengeance  dire, 

Hangs  o'er  your  heads  and  now  grows  nigher, 

'Twill  fall  intolerably  severe, 

On  all  you  rebels  far  and  near. 

On  this  invite  and  threatning  thunder, 

We  leave  you  to  consult  and  ponder. 

We  therefore  solemnly  declare, 

Which  is  as  much  as  'tis  to  swear, 

That  he  in  usual  place  who  stays, 

Shall  not  be  injur'd  several  ways  : 

We'll  only  rob  him,  and  his  person, 

Let  soldiers  have  to  make  a  farce  on. 

But  officers  in  state  and  army, 

You've  something  more  that  ought  t'alarm  ye  . 

'Tis  fell  submission,  penitence, 

Entitles  you  to  like  defence. 

But  they  who  still  may  choose  to  slight  us, 

And  rashly  dare  to  arm  and  fight  us, 

Who  disregard  this  friendly  warning, 

Must  feel  the  effects  to  morrow  morning. 

In  seventeen  hundred  seventy- nine, 
July  the  fourth,  at  sun's  decline  ; 
Given  on  board  King's  ship  Camilla, 
Sir  Collier  George  and  Tryon  Billy. 


128  NAVAL  HEROES. 

the  speech  of  the  patriotic  Lord  Camden  in  the  House  of 
Lords,  in  1778,  and  the  Protest  drawn  by  his  unequalled 
pen.  How  striking  must  have  been  the  contrast  between 
Lord  Camden  and  Lord  Mansfield,  when  one  arose  as  an 
advocate  for  humanity — the  other  for  barbarism. 

"  What  did  the  desolation  of  war  mean,  but  destruction 
of  the  houses,  and  massacreing  the  people  in  an  enemy's 
country  ?  The  declaration  in  his  opinion,  held  forth  a  war 
of  revenge,  such  as  Moloch,  in  the  Pandemonium  of  Hell 
advised." 

His  lordship  added,  "  That  the  Proclamation  ought  to  be 
damned  ;  for  it  would  fix  an  inveterate  hatred  in  the 
Americans  against  the  very  name  of  Englishmen,  which 
would  be  left  as  a  legacy  from  father  to  son  to  the  latest 
posterity.  If  there  was  any  doubt  of  the  intention  of  it, 
let  a  comparative  retrospect  prove  it :  What  had  been  done 
by  that  fellow,  Colonel  Butler,  Had  he  not  surprised  a 
little  peaceable  settlement,  and  put  the  poor  people,  men, 
women,  and  children  to  the  sword  ?  Pie  hoped  he  did  not 
now  bear  the  King's  commission." 

The  following  are  the  inscriptions  on  the  flags  captured 
at  the  taking  of  York,  conveyed  by  major  Armistead  to 
Washington  : 

"  The  standard  of  the  notorious  plundering,  burning, 
murdering,  scalping  corps  of  rangers,  commanded  by  col. 
Butler,  in  the  service  of  England,  in  the  revolutionary  war, 
whose  savage  barbarities  will  loug  be  remembered  by  the 
inhabitants  of  Mohawk  and  Susquehanna  river ;  taken  at 
Fort  George,  Upper  Canada,  May  27,  1813."  [This  flag 
was  held  in  great  veneration  by  the  savages.] 

The  declaration  alluded  to  by  Lord  Camden,  is  presented 
to  the  reader  for  the  double  purpose  of  shewing  the  Gothic 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  129 

rage  of  the  British  ministry,  and  the  exalted  magnanimity 
of  thirty-one  Peers  of  the  realm,  who  protested  against  it 
in  language,  humane  as  it  is  Christian — just  as  it  is  forcible. 
As  they  "  chose  to  draw  themselves  out,  and  distinguish 
themselves  to  posterity,"  as  enemies  to  "  ferocity  and  bar- 
barism in  war,"  let  the  present  generation  of  Americans 
venerate  their  memories  as  friends  to  the  infant  colonies. 

The  declaration  says,  "  If  there  be  any  persons,  who, 
divested  of  mistaken  resentments  and  uninfluenced  by  self- 
ish interests  really  think  it  is  for  the  benefit  of  the  Colonies 
to  separate  themselves  from  Great  Britain,  and  that  so  sep- 
arated they  will  find  a  constitution  more  mild,  more  free, 
and  better  calculated  for  their  prosperity,  than  that  which 
they  heretofore  enjoyed,  and  which  we  are  empowered  and 
disposed  to  renew  and  improve  ;  with  such  persons  we 
will  not  dispute  a  position,  which  seems  to  be  sufficiently 
contradicted  by  the  experience  they  have  had.  But  we 
think  it  right  to  leave  them  fully  aware  of  the  change  which 
the  maintaining  such  a  position  must  make  in  the  whole 
nature  and  future  conduct  of  this  war,  more  especially  when 
to  this  position  is  added  the  pretended  alliance  with  the 
court  of  France.  The  policy,  as  well  as  the  benevolence 
of  Great  Britain,  have  thus  far  checked  the  extremes  of 
war,  when  they  tended  to  distress  a  people  still  consider- 
ed as  our  fellow  subjects,  and  to  desolate  a  country  shortly 
to  become  again  a  source  of  mutual  advantage;  but  when 
that  country  possesses  the  unnatural  design,  not  only  of 
estranging  herself  from  us,  but  of  mortgaging  herself,  and 
her  resources,  to  our  enemies,  the  whole  contest  is  changed, 
and  the  question  is,  how  far  Great  Britain  may,  by  every 
means  in  her  power,  destroy  or  render  useless  a  connection 
contrived  for  her  ruin,  and  for  the    aggrandizement  of 


E30  NAVAL  HEROES. 

France.  Under  such  circumstances,  the  laws  of  self -pre- 
servation must  direct  the  conduct  of  Great  Britain  ;  and  if 
the  British  Colonies  are  to  become  an  accession  to  France, 
will  direct  her  to  render  that  accession  of  as  little  avail  as 
possible  to  her  enemies  !  /" 
Dissentient, 
1st.  Because  the  public  law  of  nations,  in  affirmance  of 
the  dictates  of  nature,  and  the  precepts  of  revealed  religion, 
forbids  us  to  resort  to  the  extremes  of  war  upon  our  own 
opinion  of  their  expediency,  or  in  any  case  to  carry  on 
war  for  the  purpose  of  desolation.  We  know  that  the 
rights  of  war  are  odious,  and  instead  of  being  extended 
upon  loose  constructions  and  speculations  of  danger,  ought 
to  be  bound  up  and  limited  by  all  the  restraints  of  the  most 
rigorous  construction.  We  are  shocked  to  see  the  first 
law  of  nature,  self-preservation,  perverted  and  abused  into 
a  principle  destructive  of  all  other  laws  ;  and  a  rule  laid 
down,  by  which  our  own  safety  is  rendered  incompatible 
with  the  prosperity  of  mankind.  The  objects  of  war 
which  cannot  be  compassed  by  fair  and  honorable  hostility, 
ought  not  to  be  compassed  at  all ;  an  end  that  has  no 
means  but  such  as  are  unlawful,  is  an  unlawful  end.  The 
Manifesto  expressly  founds  the  change  it  announces  from 
a  qualified  and  mitigated  war,  to  a  war  of  extremity  and 
desolation,  on  the  certainty  that  the  provinces  must  be  in- 
dependent, and  must  become  an  accession  to  the  strength 
of  the  enemy.  In  the  midst  of  the  calamities  by  which 
our  loss  of  empire  has  been  preceded  and  accompanied;  in 
the  midst  of  our  apprehensions  for  the  farther  calamities 
which  impend  over  us,  it  is  a  matter  of  fresh  grief  and  ac- 
cumulated shame  to  see,  from  a  commission  under  the 
Great  Seal  of  this  kingdom,  a  declaration  for  desolating  a 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  131 

vast  continent,  solely  because  zoe  had  not  the  wisdom  to  retain, 
or  the  power  to  subdue  it. 

c2d\y.  Because  the  avowal  of  a  deliberate  purpose  ol 
violating  the  law  of  nations,  must  give  an  alarm  to  every 
state  in  Europe.  All  commonwealths  have  a  concern  in 
that  law,  and  are  its  natural  avengers.  At  this  time,  sur- 
rounded by  enemies,  and  destitute  of  all  allies,  it  is  not  ne- 
cessary to  sharpen  and  embitter  the  hostility  of  declared 
foes,  or  provoke  the  enmity  of  neutral  states.  We  trust 
that  by  the  natural  strength  of  this  kingdom,  we  are  secur- 
ed from  a  foreign  conquest,  but  no  nation  is  secured  from 
the  invasion  and  incursions  of  enemies.  And  it  seems  to 
us  the  height  of  frenzy,  as  well  as  v/ickedness,  to  expose 
this  country  to  cruel  depredations,  and  other  outrages  too 
shocking  to  mention  (but  which  are  all  contained  in  the 
idea  of  the  extremes  of  war  and  desolation)  by  establishing 
a  false,  shameful,  and  pernicious  maxim,  that  where  we 
have  no  interest  to  preserve,  we  are  called  upon  by  ne- 
cessity to  destroy.  This  kingdom  has  long  enjoyed  a  pro- 
found internal  peace,  and  has  flourished  above  all  others 
in  the  arts  and  enjoyments  of  that  happy  state.  It  has 
been  the  admiration  of  the  world  for  its  cultivation  and  its 
plenty ;  for  the  comforts  of  the  poor,  the  splendour  of  the 
rich,  and  the  content  and  prosperity  of  all.  This  situation 
of  safety  may  be  attributed  to  the  greatness  of  our  power. 
It  is  more  becoming,  and  more  true,  that  we  ought  to  at- 
tribute that  safety,  and  the  power  which  procured  it,  to 
the  ancient  justice,  honour,  humanity,  and  generosity  of 
this  kingdom,  which  brought  down  the  blessing  of  Provi- 
dence on  a  people  who  made  their  prosperity  a  benefit  to 
the  world,  and  interested  all  nations  in  their  fortune,  whose 
example   of  mildness  and  benignity,   at  once  humanized 


132  NAVAL  HEROES. 

others,  and  rendered  itself  inviolable.  In  departing  from 
those  solid  principles,  and  vainly  trusting  to  the  frailty  of 
human  force,  and  to  the  efficacy  of  arms,  rendered  impotent 
by  their  perversion,  we  lay  down  principles,  and  furnish 
examples  of  the  most  atrocious  barbarity.  We  are  to 
dread  that  all  our  power,  peace  and  opulence,  should  van- 
ish like  a  dream,  and  that  the  cruelties  which  we  think  safe 
to  exercise  because  their  immediate  object  is  remote,  may 
be  brought  to  the  coasts,  perhaps  to  the  bosom  of  this  king- 
dom. 

3dly.  Because,  if  the  explanation  given  in  debate,  be 
expressive  of  the  true  sense  of  the  article  in  the  manifesto, 
such  explanation  ought  to  be  made,  and  by  as  high  author- 
ity  as  that  under  which  the  exceptionable  article  was  ori- 
ginally published.  The  natural  and  obvious  sense  indi- 
cates, that  the  extremes  of  war  had  hitherto  been  checked, 
that  his  Majesty's  Generals  had  hitherto  forborne  (upon 
principles  of  benignity  and  policy)  to  desolate  the  country  ; 
but  that  the  whole  nature,  and  future  conduct  of  the  war 
must  be  changed  in  order  to  render  the  American  accesion 
of  as  little  avail  to  France  as  possible.  This  in  our  appre- 
hension, conveys  a  menace  of  carrying  the  war  to  ex- 
tremes and  to  desolation,  or  it  means  nothing.  And  as 
some  speeches  in  the  House  (however  palliated)  and  as 
some  acts  of  singular  cruelty,  and  perfidy,  conformable  to 
the  apparent  ideas  in  the  manifesto,  have  lately  been  exer- 
cised, it  becomes  the  more  necessary,  for  the  honour  and 
safety  of  this  nation,  that  this  explanation  should  be  made. 
As  it  is  refused,  we  have  only  to  clear  ourselves  to  our  con- 
sciences, to  our  country,  to  our  neighbours,  and  to  every 
individual  who  may  suffer  in  consequence  of  this  atrocious 
menace,  of  all  part  in  the  guilt,  or  in  the  evils  that  may  be- 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES. 


3? 


come  its  punishment.  And  we  choose  to  draw  ourselves 
ou(;  and  to  distinguish  ourselves  to  posterity,  as  not  being 
the  first  to  renew,  to  approve,  or  to  tolerate  the  return  of 
that  ferocity  and  barbarism  in  war,  which  a  beneficent  re- 
ligion, enlightened  manners,  and  true  military  honour,  had 
for  a  long  time  banished  from  the  christian  world. 


Camden, 

Abergavenny, 

Beausieu, 

Abingdon, 

Coventry, 

Harcourt, 

Fitzwilliam, 

De  Ferrars, 

Effingham, 

Fortescue, 

Ferrars, 

Wycombe, 

Grafton, 

Stanhope, 

Scarborough, 

Craven, 

Rockingham, 

Cholmondeley, 

J.  S.  Asaph, 

Tankerville, 

Devonshire, 

Richmond, 

Ponsonby, 

Foley, 

Bolton, 

Derby, 

Spencer. 

Radnor, 
Egremont, 

Manchester, 
Portland, 

London,  December  12. 
The  list  of  noble  Peers,  who  protested  against  "  the  ex- 
tremes of  war  and  desolating  America,"  on  Monday  last,  is 
one  of  the  most  respectable  that  has  appeared  for  some 
years,  as,  independent  of  theirgreat  characters  in  private  and 
public  life,  there  are  ten  of  them  whose  fortunes  altogeth- 
er make  up  above  two  hundred  thousand  pounds  per  j  ear ; 
yet  these  are  the  men  whose  sentiments  must  avail  nothing 
at  so  critical  and  important  a  crisis  as  the  present :  whilst 
a  mad  and  impracticable  war  is  carrying  on  for  the  pur- 
poses of  a  false  pride,  the  aggrandizement  of  vicious,  igno- 
rant statesmen,  and  the  rapacity  of  hungry  contractors." 

It  was  certainly  a  studied,  as  it  was  a  low  insult,  to  date 
this  conflagration  edict  upon  the  anniversary  of  American 
19 


134  NAVAL  HEROES. 

independence  :  and,  like  the  ancient  Nero,  who  fiddled  while 
Rome  was  burning,  these  modern  Vandals  were  "  grinning 
horribly  ghastly  smiles,"  while,  in  three  days  only,  after 
its  date,  the  beautiful  towns  of  Fairfield  and  Norwalk,* 
were  in  smoking  ruins. 

No  wonder  that  the  prophetic  Lord  Camden  foresaw  that 
such  barbarism  "  would  fix  an  inveterate  hatred  in  Ameri- 
cans against  the  very  name  of  Englishmen,  which  would 
be  left  as  a  legacy  from  father  to  son  to  the  latest  posteri- 
ty." 

Although  the  powerful  empire  of  Britain  may  boast,  that 
in  the  eighteenth  century  she  carried  her  conquests  thro' 
the  four  quarters  of  the  globe,  let  her  not  again,  in  the 
nineteenth,  attempt  to  subdue  that  portion  of  America, 
which  lies  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Western  ocean — 
the  45th  degree  of  north  latitude,  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

At  the  sessions  of  the  common  pleas  at  Whitestown,  N. 
Y.  in  September  1820,  Kirkland  Griffin,  Esq.  a  veteran  of 
the  revolution,  appeared  in  person  to  witness  an  assem- 
blage of  heroes  of  the  revolution,  who  appeared  before  the 
court,  to  procure  the  proper  vouchers  to  enable  them  to 
obtain  the  pension  munificently  granted  to  them,  through 
the  exertions  of  James  Monroe,  who  was  himself  a  se- 
verely wounded  lieutenant  at  the  "  Victory  of  Trenton," 
in  1776,  and  now  (1823)  President  of  the  United  States. 
The  venerable  Griffin,  did  not  come  to  ask  for  himself,  but 
to  congratulate  those  who  asked  conscientiously,  and  who 
received  gratefully.  The  scene  revived  his  ardour,  and 
he  proceeded  as  follows  : 

"  Who  could  forbear  to  go  into  service,  when  fathers, 

*  The  British  general  Garth,  one  of  Collier's  torch  bearers,  was 
taken  by  the  Experiment,  and  80,000  guineas  with  him. 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  136 

nothers,  sisters,  and  friends,  all  implored  it,  and  all  would 
,rive  every  thing  and  do  every  thing  in  their  power  to  pre- 
pare the  young  men.  Those  were  the  days  of  devotion  to 
our  country.  I  went  on  board  a  privateer.  We  were 
soon  captured.  We  could  not  help  it.  We  had  but  10 
guns,  and  they  came  upon  us  with  64 — we  could  not  resist, 
and  surrendered.  It  was  early  in  the  war,  and  we  were 
not  considered  or  treated  as  prisoners  of  war,  but  as  rebels. 
We  heard  nothing  from  our  country  but  from  our  keep- 
ers, who  gave  us  the  most  dismal  and  gloomy  accounts  ; 
until  after  a  long  confinement  a  clergyman  happened  to 
say  to  us  that  there  was  good  news  from  America  for  us. 
After  he  was  gone  we  had  a  long  consultation  about  what 
it  could  mean,  and  finally  concluded  that  it  must  be,  that 
Burgoyne,*  of  whose  invasion  and  progress  we  had  heard 
the  most  exulting  statement  from  our  keepers,  had  surren- 
dered. We  immediately  mustered  a  crown  and  bribed  a 
poor  woman  to  bring  us  a  paper  that  had  in  it  the  account 
of  Burgoyne's  capitulation,  and  a  candle:  for  we  had  not 
seen  the  light  either  of  a  fire  or  a  candle  for  many  months. 
Having  procured  them,  we  mounted  one  of  the  best  read- 
ers on  a  beam,  for  we  occupied  a  second  story,  and  had  no 
floor  over  head,  and  all  gave  attention.  He  read  the  ac- 
count in  a  loud  voice,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  order 
was  preserved  until  he  had  finished,  and  the  moment  he 
had,  there  was  a  tremendous  shouting.  The  guards  were 
roused,  we  heard  them  and  retired.  They  examined  and 
left  us.  We  went  at  it  again  ;  they  returned — we  retired 
as  they  approached.  They  took  off  a  few  and  departed; 
we  re-assembled  and  determined  that  we  would  rejoice. 
How  to  do  it  we  knew  not  ;  for  we  had  nothing  to  drink, 
and  precious  little  to  eat  ;  but  rejoice  we  must  and  would. 
*  Com.  Jones  announced  this  victory  to  the  French  Admiral. 


136  IN  AVAL  HEROES. 

Finally,  we  concluded  we  would  dance. — We  had  a  few 
fiddles,  and  we  set  two  or  three  to  playing,  and  then  all 
throughout  the  whole  extent  of  our  long  prison  went  at  it, 
and  in  spite  of  the  keepers  and  guards  we  had  a  real  Con- 
necticut dance."  After  an  imprisonment  of  more  than  two 
years,  our  Paul  Jones*  was  liberated,  and  again  went  into 
the  service  under  the  brave  commander  of  that  name,  and 
was  with  him  during  his  most  successful  cruises,  and  par- 
ticularly in  the  terrible  engagement  between  the  Good 
Man  Richard  and  Seraphis,  when  the  engagement  was  de- 
cided by  boarding.  The  Americans  lost  150  out  of  350 
men,  and  the  British  suffered  a  still  greater  loss.  The 
American  Frigate  was  old,  and  not  built  for  war,  and  it 
was  believed,  during  the  battle,  that  she  would  sink  :  '  Nev- 
er mind  it,'  said  Paul, '  we  shall  have  a  better  one  to  go 
home  in,'  and  so  it  proved.  All,  said  our  Paul,  that  I  ever 
received  for  my  services,  except  a  little  prize  money,  wa? 
180  dollars  in  continental  money,  and  that  I  have  now." 

Since  the  preceding  sketch  was  written,  the  writer  has 
enjoyed  the  high  gratification  and  the  amusement  and  in- 
telligence of  an  acquaintance  with  Mr.  William  Henderson, 
a  remote  connexion  of  Capt.  Matthew  Henderson,  immor- 
talized by  the  elegy  and  epitaph  of  the  charming  bard  of 
"  Old  Scotia,"  Robert  Burns.  This  inimitable  bard,  who. 
like  Pope,  "  lisped  in  numbers,"  was  often  hospitably  en- 
tertained at  the  house  of  Mr.  Henderson's  father,  situated 
upon  the  estate  of  the  Earl  of  Mansfield.  At  this  hospita- 
ble mansion,  Burns  wrote  many  of  his  unsurpassed  effu- 
sions ;  and  Mr.  Henderson's  brother,  who,  with  him,  left 
"  Old  Scotia,"  for  "  New  (Nova)  Scotia,"  during  the  last 
war,  has  in  his  possession  a  large  poem  in  the  hand  writing 
of  Burns,  never  yet  published. 

*  In  his  vicinity  Mr.  Griffin  was  so  called. 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  137 

Mr.  Henderson  had  explored  almost  the  whole  of  Scot- 
land, England  and  Wales,  before  his  desire  for  novelty  and 
enterprise  led  him  to  the  province  of  Nova  Scotia;  and,  late 
in  1821,  to  New  England. 

He  has  been  acquainted,  from  early  life,  with  that  part 
of  Scotland,  so  long  menaced  by  one  of  his  own  country- 
men, and  the  adopted  champion  of  American  freedom, 
John  Paul  Jones.  He  assured  me,  that  amongst  the  elder 
portion  of  the  people  still  surviving,  the  achievements  of 
Jones  are  still  a  subject  of  animated,  yet  fearful  conversa- 
tion. As  the  Scots  peasantry  are  remarkable  for  supersti- 
tious belief  in  ghosts,  witches,  warlocks,  &c.  they  probably 
still  fear  Jones,  "  though  he  be  dead,"  as  much  as  Sir  John 
Falstaff  did  "  that  gunpowder  Percy."  It  is  with  the 
highest  satisfaction  1  present  the  following  anecdote,  so 
perfectly  characteristic  of  the  ancient  Presbyterian  clergy 
of  the  kirk  of  Scotland,  in  the  language  of  Mr.  Henderson. 

"  About  the  time  that  Jones  visited  Whitehaven,  he  went 
round  to  the  Firth  of  Forth,  and  made  his  appearance  off' the 
harbour  of  Kirkaldy,  a  noted  small  town  on  the  borders  of 
Fifeshire  (called  by  the  Scotch  the  '  Lang  toun  o'  Kirkaldy,"' 
owing  to  its  length.)  No  other  enemy  however  formida- 
ble, could  have  created  in  the  minds  of  the  inhabitants, 
such  consternation  and  alarm  as  that  which  then  approach- 
ed. Paul  Jones  was  the  dread  of  all,  old  and  young,  (and 
pamphlets  of  his  depredations  were  as  common  in  every 
house  as  almanacs.)  He  was  looked  upon  as  a  sea-mon- 
ster, that  swallowed  up  all  that  came  in  his  power.  The 
people  all  flocked  to  the  shore  tp  watch  his  movements, 
expecting  the  worst  consequences.  There  was  an  old 
Presbyterian  minister  in  the  place,  a  very  pious  and  good 
aid  man,  but  of  a  most  singular  and  eccentric  turn,  espe- 


138  NAVAL  HEROES. 

dally  in  addressing  the  Deity,  to  whom  he  would  speak 
with  as  much  familiarity  as  he  would  to  an  old  farmer,  and 
seemingly  without  respect,  as  will  appear  from  the  follow- 
ing ;  he  was  soon  seen  making  his  way  through  the  people 
with  an  old  black  oak  arm  chair,  which  he  lugged  down  to 
low  water  mark,  (the  tide  flowing)  and  sat  down  in  it. 
Almost  out  of  breath,  and  rather  in  a  passion,  he  then  be- 
gan to  address  the  Deity  in  the  following  singular  way. 
,  "  Now  deed  Lord,  dinna  ye  think  its  a  shame  for  ye  to 
send  this  vile  Pireet  to  rub  our  folk  o'  Kirkaldy  j  for  ye  ken 
they're  a'  puir  enough  already,  and  hae  naething  to  spairc. 
They  are  a?  gaily  guid,  and  it  wad  be  zpeety  to  serve  them 
in  sic  in  a  wa.  The  wa  the  wun  blows,  he'll  be  here  in  a 
jiffie,  and  wha  kens  what  he  may  do.  He's  nane  too  guid 
for  ony  thing.  MeickWs  the  mischief  he  has  dune  already. 
Ony  pecket  gear  they  hae  gathered  thegilher  he  will  gang 
wP  the  heal  oH  ;  may  burn  their  hooses,  tak  their  vary  claes, 
and  tirl  them  to  the  sark  ;  and  waes  me!  wha  kens  but  the 
bluidy  villain  might  tak  their  lives.  The  puir  weemen  ere 
maist  freightened  out  o'  their  wuts,  and  the  bairns  skirling 
after  them.  /  canna?  tho^lt !  I  c anna''  tho'lt!  I  hae  been 
lang  a  faithfu'  servant  toye,  Lard]  but  gin  ye  dinna  turn  the 
wun  about,  and  blaw  the  scoundrel  out  o'  our  gate,  I'll  na 
stur  a  fit,  but  will  jujst  sit  here,  until  the  tide  comes  and 
drouns  me  ;  Sae  take  yere  wull  o'<." 

Whether  the  wind  suddenly  turned  or  not,  Jones  al- 
tered his  course,  and  moved  off.  The  good  old  man 
took  up  his  chair  and  went  home  ;  expressing  his  thanks 
to  the  Lord  for  the  favour,  in  a  more  humble  manner  than 
he  requested  it. 

To  Mr.  P.  Waldo,  from  his  ob't  servant, 

Wm.  Henderson." 

P.  S.  I  will  send  you  the  original  poem,  by  Robert  Burns. 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  139 

I  at  first  thought  of  furnishing  a  glossary  explanative  of 
the  Scotticisms  in  this  singular  specimen  of  Scots  devotion. 
which  Mr.  Henderson  repeatedly  heard  recited  hy  his  fa- 
ther, and  many  aged  people  of  Kirkaldy  ;  but  there  is  so 
much  "  sprinkling  of  Scots,"  as  Burns  says,  it  is  all  offered 
in  modern  English  under  the  correction  of  Mr.  Henderson. 

"  Now,  indeed,  Lord,  do  not  thou  think  it  is  a  shame 
for  thee  to  send  this  vile  Pirate  to  rob  the  people  of   K 
kaldy  ?  for  thou  knowest  they  are  all  poor  enough  a  1 
and  have  nothing  to  spare.     They  are  all,  in  great  measi 
good  ;  and  it  would  be  a  pity  to  serve  them  in  such  a  wa , 
The  course  the  wind  blows  he  will  be  here  in  a  jiffin  ;  and 
who  knows  what  he  may  do  ?  He  is  none  too  good  for  any 
thing.     Much  is  the  mischief  he  has  done  already.     Any 
little  wealth  they  have  gathered  together,  he  will  go  off 
with  the  whole  of  it.     He  may  burn  their  houses — take 
their  very  clothes,  and  strip  them  to  the  very  shirt  ;  and 
woe  be  to  me !  who  knows  but  the  bloody  villain  might 
take  their  lives.     The  poor  women  are  almost  frightened 
out  of  their  wits  ;  and  the  little  children  are  screaming  af- 
ter them.     I  cannot  endure  it !  I  cannot  endure  it !  I  have 
long  been  a  faithful  servant  to  thee,  Lord  ;  but  if  thou  dost 
not  change  the  wind  about,  and  blow  the  scoundrel  out  of 
our  way,  I  will  never  stir  a  foot ;  but  will  sit  here  until  the 
tide  flows  and  drowns  me. — So  let  thy  will  be  done." 

CHARACTER  OF  JOHN  PAUL  JONES. 

John  Paul  Jones  was  a  phenomenon  in  human  nature, 
and  an  anomaly  in  the  human  character.  However  sacred 
and  endearing  is  the  principle  to  Americans,  that  "  all  men 
are  born  equal,  and  born  free  ;"  a  Scots  peasant  has  but  a 


I 


140  NAVAL  HEROES. 

faint  conception  of  native  equality  or  native  freedom — yet, 
although  Paul  of- Dumfries'  was  born  of  humble  peasants, 
he  might,  with  "  Paul  of  Tarsus"  have  faid,  "  /  zoas  born 
free."  The  devotion  of  the  Scots  peasantry  is  proverbial 
for  its  fervor  ;  but  the  fervor  of  Jones  seemed  to  have  but 
little  reference  to  Heaven  !  He  divested  himself  of  devo- 
tion and  humanity  also,  and  attached  himself  to  an  infernal, 
blood-stained,  slave  dealer.  He  left  the  diabolical  traffic 
in  human  flesh,  and  became  commander  in  chief  in  smug- 
gling goods.  He  left  the  business  of  defrauding  the  reve- 
nue, for  the  daring  employ  of  capturing  the  war  ships  of 
his  king. 

He  found  himself  an  outlaw  from  the  land  of  his  birth, 
and  sought  a  new  home  in  France.  As  he  had  been  a 
prince  of  smugglers  on  a  little  island,*  he  became  a  princely 
tavern-keeper  on  the  continent :  Disgusted  with  retailing 
wine  and  soup  at  Boulogne*to  replenish  his  purse,  he  dash- 
ed into  London  to  fill  it  by  gambling.  Calculating  himself 
a  match  for  any  thing,  he  there  suddenly  found  himself 
outmatched.  He  once  more  appeared  like  a  piece  of 
abandoned  goods,  ready  to  be  taken  up  by  the  first  fortu- 
nate finder.  This  thoughtless  and  inconsiderate  being,  at 
length  began  to  consider  and  think.  Driven  from  two  king- 
doms in  the  Old  World,  he  sought  an  asylum  in  a  rising 
Republic  in  the  new. 

A  passage  across  the  Atlantic  dissipated  all  the  incongru- 
ous eccentricities  of  his  character.  From  soaring  like  a 
comet,  where  the  varying  gusts  of  flames  and  winds  hurled 
him,  he  began,  and  continued  to  move  like  a  planet  in  a 
regular  orbit.  Furnished  with  secret  instructions  from 
Washington  and  the  Old  Congress,  he  repaired,  incognito. 
to  the  proud  capital  of  Britain.     With  a  minute  knowledge 

*  Isle  of  Man. 


COM.  JOHN  PAUL  JONES.  141 

of  the  preparations  of  the  Admiralty  of  the  first  naval  pow- 
er on  the  ocean,  he  returned  to  the  struggling  colonies,  and 
suddenly  ascended  the  "  mountain  wave"  with  the  first 
"star-spangled  banner"  that  ever  waved  upon  a  war  ship 
of  Independent  America,  bearing  the  first  Post-Captain's 
commission,  under  the  signature  of  Washington,  that  issu- 
ed after  the  "  Declaration  of  American  Independence," 
and  sailed  in  a  ship,  bearing  the  name  of  the  first  legitimate 
Saxon  Prince  who  first  gave  regulated  existence  to  English 
Liberty  ;  which,  after  being  banished  from  degenerate  Bri- 
tain, was  rearing  her  mild  and  majestic  front  amidst  a  new 
race  of  Freemen,  sprung  from  an  old  stock  of  subjugated 
and  unresisting  vassals. 

The  new-born  Jones,  a  champion  of  the  new-born  Re- 
public, wafted  forth,  violating  the  mechanical  rules  of  stu- 
died naval  warfare,  and  defying  an  enemy,  who  defied  heav- 
en and  earth,  nor  shrunk  at  the  power  of  u  profoundest 
hell."  He  rushed  on  from  victory  to  victory,  from  "  con- 
quering and  to  conquer,"  till  the  Genius  of  Conquest  claim- 
ed him  as  a  favourite  son.  From  the  time  of  his  defection 
from  his  tyrant  king,  and  the  beginning  of  his  achievements 
in  the  cause  of  his  "  rebel  colonies,"  he  was  sought  after 
as  a  "piece  of  lost  silver,"  and  pursued,  by  the  arm  of 
vengeance,  as  a  daring  traitor.  Jones  eluded  their  search 
and  their  wrath  ;  and,  with  a  squadron  of  ill  appointed 
ships,  excited  alarm  for  the  homeward  bound  fleets  of  Bri- 
tish merchantmen — captured  their  convoy,  and  compelled 
St.  George's  Cross  to  fall  before  the  Republican  Banner  of 
America. 

He  menaced  the  cities  of  Old  Scotia — visited  the  place 
of  his  birth  as  a  conquering  Commodore — took  the  plate  of 
a  Scots  Peer  for  his  own  cabin,  and  drew  from  him  a  letter 
20 


142  NAVAL  HEROES. 

of  thanks  for  his  magnanimity  in  restoring  it.  Upon  one 
month  he  spread  consternation  and  dismay  upon  the  coast 
of  Britain — upon  the  next,  he  received  the  congratulations 
of  a  Prince  of  Bourbon,  and  their  High  Mightinesses  of 
Holland.  He  announced  the  victory  over  Burgoyne,  and 
received  the  first  salute  ever  given  by  a  foreign  power  to 
the  American  flag.  He  re- crossed  the  Atlantic,  like  a  pro- 
digy, conquering  as  he  passed,  and  received  the  highest 
meed  of  praise  ever  bestowed  upon  a  hero — a  Vote  of 
Thanks  from  the  Old  Congress  by  the  recommendation  of 
Washington.  At  the  height  of  glory,  and  the  depths  of 
bankruptcy,  he  once  more  rolled  across  the  ocean — placed 
in  his  coffers  the  reward  of  his  valor — again  made  his  last 
voyage  to  the  admired  Republic — his  adopted  country. 
In  the  bosom  of  that  favoured  land,  he  lived  an  object  of 
wondering  contemplation,  and  died  with  the  glory  of  one 
of  the  first  heroes  of  the  eighteenth  century.  His  birth, 
his  life,  and  his  death,  evinces  that  the  most  disheartening 
circumstances  furnish  no  insurmountable  barriers  against  an 
ardent  and  determined  spirit  ;  and  that,  by  exertion,  with 
the  smiles  of  heaven,  man  can  arise  from  obscurity  to  dis- 
tinction, from  penury  to  competence,  and  from  degradation 
to  glory* 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

OF 

EDWARD  PREBLE, 

LIEUTENANT  IN   THE 

CONTINENTAL  NAVY 
IN  THE  WAR  OF  THE  REVOLUTION  . 

AND 
COMMANDER  IN  CHIEF  OF   THE 

AMERICAN  SQUADRON  IN  THE  MEDITERRANEAN 

IN  1803  AND  1804. 

His  birth,  early  propensities,  pursuits,  obtains  a  midshipman's  warrant 
— enters  the  Protector  26  gun  ship — engages  the  Admiral  Duff,  36 
guns,  takes  her,  and  she  explodes — P^pidemic  on  board  the  Protec- 
tor— Preble  is  promoted  to  1st  Lieutenant — Enters  the  Winthrop 
in  that  capacity — Capt.  Little  designates  him  for  a  daring  enter- 
prise in  Penobscot  bay,  which  he  executes,  brings  out  his  prize, 
and  enters  with  her  into  Boston  harbour — Peace  is  concluded— 
Lieut.  Preble  commences  the  merchant  service,  accumulates  pro- 
perty, and  marries  an  excellent  wife. — Incidents  of  domestic  life 
omitted — He  is  appointed  a  lieutenant  in  the  modern  navy  in  1798 
— Capt.  Preble  is  appointed  to  command  the  Essex — Repairs  to  the 
East  Indies — Returns  to  America — He  is  appointed  commander  of 
the  Mediterranean  squadron — Mahometan  depredations  upon  Chris- 
tian merchants — Coin.  Preble's  squadron,  names  and  force  of  ves- 
sels, and  commanders — Modesty  and  reserve  of  naval  officers — 
Com.  Preble's  measures  with  the  emperor  of  Morocco — Lays  his 
squadron  before  Tangier — Is  invited  to  land — Declines  to  lay  off 
his  arms  when  on  shore — His  unshaken  firmness  and  decision — Be- 
fore he  returns  to  the  squadron,  effects  an  accommodation — Pro- 
ceeds to  his  ultimate  destination — Loss  of  frigate  Philadelphia,  and 
bondage  of  the  crew — Lieut.  Decatur  captures  a  Tripolitan  cor- 
sair— Difficulty  and  importance  of  Com.  Preble's  situation,  and  his 
fitness  for  it — His  general  rendezvous,  Syracuse — Jussuff,  Bashaw 
of  Tripoli — Com.  Preble  designates  Lieut.  Decatur  to  command  an 
expedition  against  the  Philadelphia  frigate — Danger  of  it — Master- 
ly execution  of  it — Com.  Preble  obtains  two  bombards  and  six  gun- 
boats from  Naples— Gen.  Eaton's  attempt  to  aid  Com.  Preble — 
Carramalli  ex-bashaw — First  general  attack  upon  Tripoli,  Aug.  3. 
1804 — Desperate  engagement  of  the  gun-boats — Death  of  Lieut. 
James  Decatur — Effects  of  the  engagement — Second  attack  Aug. 
7th — Proposition  from  Com.  Preble  to  the  Bashaw — Third  attack, 
Aug.  27— Fourth  attack,  Sep.  3d~Upon  the  4th  Sept.  Lieut.  Som- 


144  NAVAL  HEROES. 

ers,  &c.  enters  the  harbour  with  a  fire-ship,  which  explodes — Re 
mark — Com.  Barron  arrived  Sept.  9th,  and  Com.  Preble  returns  to 
America — Employed  in    Navy  Department — Died   at    Portland, 
Maine — His  character. 

The  man  whose  life  and  character  I  now  attempt  to  pre- 
sent to  the  reader,  moved  in  a  subordinate  station  in  the  first 
war  between  America  and  Britain — for  he  was  then  but  a 
youth.  He  was  born  in  Portland,  the  capital  of  the  then 
District,  and  now  State  of  Maine,  in  the  year  1761.  His 
native  country,  then  under  the  dominion  of  Britain,  was 
struggling,  hand  in  hand,  with  what  was  then  called,  "  the 
mother  country,"  against  Frenchmen  and  Indians.  Born 
in  a  frigid,  and  what  was  then  deemed  a  sterile  region,  as 
he  advanced  along  into  that  stage  of  life  when  the  "  ruling 
passion"  evinces  itself  by  overt  acts,  he  manifested  his  pre- 
dilection for  a  nautical  life. 

His  surviving  companions  in  boyhood,  relate  many  inci- 
dents of  his  early  life,  which  clearly  show  the  original  firm- 
ness and  greatness  of  his  mind.  Although  habit,  educa- 
tion, pursuits,  associates,  and  innumerable  other  circum- 
stances, give  a  tone  and  direction  to  the  human  mind,  yet 
there  is  a  certain  native  trait  of  character  which  distin- 
guishes one  boy,  as  well  as  one  man,  from  another.  It 
seems  to  be  born  at  their  birth,  to  grow  with  their  growth, 
and  strengthen  with  their  strength.  Neither  the  mother  in 
the  nursery, — the  father  in  the  active  scenes  of  life — the 
preceptor  in  the  school,  nor  the  president  in  the  universi- 
ty, can  divert  the  mind  of  some  youth  from  their  predom- 
inant aim  and  object.  Although  it  is  said  "  the  stream  is 
made  by  nature,  but  the  channel  is  cut  by  custom  ;"  yet 
Edward  Preble  would  float  in  the  stream  which  nature 
made  for  him  ;  and  it  was  as  vain  to  attempt  to  change  his 
course,  as  it  would  be  to  strive  to  divorce  the  sun  from  thf. 
ecliptic,  or  the  earth  from  the  zodiac. 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  145 

The  parents  of  young  Preble,  being  amongst  the  most 
respectable  class  of  citizens,  designed  their  son  for  one  of 
the  learned  professions.  He  was  placed  in  one  of  the 
best  seminaries,  and  under  the  tuition  of  one  of  the  most 
accomplished  preceptors  of  that  period,  to  pass  through 
studies  preparatory  for  a  university.  He  made  rapid  pro- 
gress in  his  studies  ;  but  while  his  eyes  were  upon  his 
books,  his  thoughts  were  upon  the  ocean. 

The  remonstrances  of  his  parents  could  not  long  dis- 
suade, nor  their  threatenings  deter  him.  They  were  com- 
pelled to  part  with  a  favourite  son,  or  dampen  his  ardour 
by  thwarting  his  inclination  ,  and  the  adventurous  youth 
wafted  from  his  native  shore,  to  his  adopted  element,  as  a 
cabin-boy.  Disgusted  with  the  humble  duties  of  the  cab- 
in, he  was  almost  constantly  on  deck,  or  hanging  in  the 
rigging,  "  in  calm  and  in  storm."  He  was  too  inquiet  for 
a  cabin-boy,  and  fitted  by  nature  for  some  duty  more  man- 
ly and  daring. 

He  continued  at  sea  in  the  merchant  service  until  the 
year  1779.  He  was  then  of  the  stature  of  manhood,  and 
had  a  heart  beating  ardently  for  heroic  enterprise.  Hav- 
ing influential  friends,  they  obtained  for  him  from  govern- 
ment a  midshipman's  warrant. 

Although  this  was  but  a  humble  rank,  it  is  the  "  first  de- 
gree" that  is  now  obtained  in  the  British  navy.  Even  then 
it  became  necessary  for  lord  Nelson,  and  the  duke  of  Cla- 
rence, (son  of  Geo.  III.)  to  pass  through  the  duties  of  this 
station  as  a  passport  to  one  of  higher  grade. 

Young  Preble  in  this  capacity,  entered  on  board  the 
Protector,   then  commanded  by  Capt.  J.    F.  Williams. 
Preble  soon  discovered  his  qualifications  for  the  station  he 
filled.     Although  like  a  true  seaman,  he  was  to  all, 
"  Manly  aad  honest,  good-natured  and  free." 


146  NAVAL  HEROES. 

he  maintained  and  exercised  the  authority  vested  in  him 
with  a  firm,  steady,  and  undeviating  hand.  Although  but 
eighteen  years  of  age,  he  had  entirely  divested  himself  of 
the  frivolous  puerilities  of  boyhood. 

The  year  1779,  was  a  year,  memorable  in  the  desperate 
struggle  which  eventuated  in  the  independence  of  the 
American  Republic. 

The  armed  ships  belonging  to  the  Thirteen  Colonies 
were  like  little  barques,  thrust  into  the  midst  of  powerful 
fleets ;  and  they  were  compelled  to  swim  or  sink  by  the 
most  unparalleled  exertions  of  human  courage.  Swim- 
ming or  sinking,  their  crews,  inspired  by  the  patriotic  sen- 
timents which  the  genius  of  liberty  infused  into  their  hearts, 
were  cool,  dauntless  and  undismayed  in  the  hour  of  disas- 
ter— humane  and  dignified  in  the  midst  of  victory. 

The  first  cruise  the  Protector  made  was  upon  the  coast 
of  Newfoundland.  It  was  the  theatre  upon  which  the  first 
Jones*  and  the  first  Biddlef  began  to  act  their  splendid 
parts  in  the  tragedy  of  the  Revolution.  The  Protector  af- 
forded every  possible  protection  to  American  commerce, 
and  gave  every  possible  annoyance  to  that  of  Britain.  She 
mounted  26  guns,  and  her  crew  were  principally  "  Yan- 
kee seamen,"  prepared  for  the  most  desperate  enterprise, 

An  opportunity  was  afforded  them  to  display  their  cour- 
age when  the  Protector  fell  in  with  the  British  ship  Admi- 
ral Duff,  of  36  guns.  Capt.  Williams  might  well  have 
wished  to  avoid  an  engagement  with  a  ship  so  much  supe- 
rior to  his  own.  But  he  chose  not  to  strike  the  American 
Flag,  which  so  lately  began  to  wave  over  the  Atlantic  in  a 
hostile  capacity.     He  laid  his  ship  along-side  the  Admiral 

*  Com.  John  Paul  Jones.        fCom.  Nicholas  Biddle. 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  147 

Huff,  and  entered  into  action  as  close  as  possible,  unless  it 
were  by  boarding. 

This  was  the  first  serious  engagement  young  midship- 
man Preble  ever  entered  into.  The  men  under  his  imme- 
diate command,  were  inspired  to  the  highest  pitch  of  en- 
thusiasm by  his  fearless  example.  The  ships  laid  so  near 
together,  that  as  the  survivors  relate,  the  men  actually 
cast  balls  at  each  other  from  the  decks  with  their  hands. 

After  a  short,  but  most  furious  contest,  the  Admiral  Duff 
struck  to  the  Protector,  Midshipman  Preble  with  his  su- 
perior officers,  was  on  the  point  of  taking  possession  of 
her,  when  she  was  blown  to  pieces  by  the  explosion  of  the 
magazine. 

Whether  it  was  occasioned  by  the  chagrin  of  the  British 
commander  at  being  compelled  to  strike  to  a  Yankee  ship, 
of  inferior  force,  or  by  accident,  never  was',  and  never  can 
be  determined.  Instead  of  taking  possession  of  the  ship, 
the  officers  and  crew  of  the  Protector,  were  now  engaged 
in  picking  up  the  surviving  crew  of  the  enemy,  from  the 
fragments  of  the  destroyed  ship.  Five  minutes  before, 
Preble  would  have  encountered  a  whole  gang  of  them, 
single  handed — but  now,  when  he  saw  them  at  the  mercy 
of  the  waves,  he  strove  to  save  human  beings  who  could  no 
longer  resist  him  as  enemies. 

The  consequence  of  taking  on  board  the  Protector  the 
surviving  crew  of  the  Admiral  Duff,  was  the  spreading  of  a 
malignant  disorder,  on  board  the  ship,  and  losing  two  thirds 
of  the  crew. 

The  humanity  and  benevolence  of  American  Naval  He- 
roes, were  displayed  at  this  early  period  of  the  naval  glory 
of  the  American  Republic.  It  was  not  in  the  instances  of 
a  few  individuals  only  that  these  exalted  sentiments  were 


148  NAVAL  HEROES. 

displayed — it  was  a  sentiment  common  to  the  American 
character. 

The  moderation  of  our  ancestors  during  the  sanguinary 
struggle  of  the  revolution,  must  excite  the  admiration  of 
their  descendants,  and  the  applause  of  the  world.  No 
race  of  people  upon  earth,  however,  ever  had  more  cause 
to  resort  to  violent  measures.  Americans  were  denounced 
as  rebels,  and  threatened  as  traitors.  Wanton  destruction 
and  Vandal  devastations,  marked  the  presence  and  the  pas- 
sage of  the  enemy.  The  capital  of  Preble's  native  Dis- 
trict was  burned,  Charlestown,  (Mass.)  was  in  ashes,  New 
London,  Fairfield,*  and  Norwalk,  (Con.)  were  reduced 
by  conflagration.  The  beautiful  island  of  Rhode-Island 
was  turned  into  a  waste.  But  why  extend  the  long  cata- 
logue of  barbarous  deeds  ?  It  might  indeed  be  extended  ; 
and  as  the  character  of  Britons  approximated  to  that  of 
Vandals,  that  of  Americans  would  remind  the  historian  of 
Romans  in  the  best  days  of  Rome. 

Capt.  Williams  returned  into  port  to  refit  the  Protector, 
and  recruit  his  crew,  so  alarmingly  reduced  by  a  dreadful 
malady.  This  was  soon  effected,  and  the  Protector  once 
more  wafted  into  the  midst  of  the  enemy.  It  was  her  last 
cruise  under  American  colours.  She  was  obliged  to  strike 
to  a  heavy  British  Frigate,  and  Sloop  of  War  in  company  ; 
as  it  would  have  been  the  height  of  desperation  to  have 
contended  with  a  force  so  vastly  superior. 

The  severe  treatment  the  crew  of  the  Protector  receiv- 
ed, was  unquestionably  occasioned  by  their  unrivalled  gal- 

*  Vide  Gen.  Humphreys  "  Elegy  on  the  burning  of  Fairfield."  Also 
preceding  Sketch  of  Com.  Jones.  The  debates  in  Parliament,  in  the 
most  vindictive  language  condemned  the  conduct  of  British  officers  in 
America. 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  149 

lantry  in  compelling  the  frigate,  Admiral  Duff,  to  strike  ; 
but  which  really  ought  to  have  excited  the  admiration  of 
the  British  Captains.  Instead  of  paroling  the  officers  and 
exchanging  the  seamen  for  British  prisoners,  the  gallant 
Capt.  Williams,  Lieut.  George  Little,  and  many  other  un- 
rivalled patriots  in  the  cause  of  freedom,  were  transported 
to  England,  and  lodged  in  Plymouth  prison.  Midshipman 
Preble,  however,  by  the  intervention  of  influential  friends, 
obtained  his  release  in  America. 

Mr.  Preble,  for  his  gallant,  and  his  highly  meritorious 
services  on  board  the  Protector,  received  the  commission 
of  first  Lieutenant.  He  was  but  twenty  years  of  age,  at 
the  time  he  was  placed  in  this  highly  responsible  station. 
The  British  might  be  led  to  suppose  that  the  favours  be- 
stowed upon  the  Lieutenant  by  his  exchange,  would  have 
conciliated  his  feelings  towards  the  crown  of  England.  But 
while  he  was  gratified  at  being  in  the  bosom  of  his  country 
— receiving  the  approbation  of  the  Old  Congress,  and  be- 
ing promoted  to  a  station  in  which  he  might  again  serve 
his  country  ;  he  could  not  forget  the  gallant  Williams  and 
Little,  incarcerated  in  a  British  dungeon,  three  thousand 
miles  distant.  He  was  not  long  separated  from  the  deter- 
mined Little.  He  scaled  the  wall  of  his  Plymouth  prison 
— made  his  escape  to  France,  and  returned  to  Boston.  He 
was  immediately  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Captain. 

A  fine  sloop  of  war,  called  the  Winthrop  was  prepared 

for  sea ;  and  Capt.  Little,  and  Lieut.   Preble  entered  on 

board  ;  and  very  soon  had  a  crew  well  calculated  for  such 

officers.     They  immediately  put  to  sea,  and  these  young 

officers  soon  gave  evidence  of  those  exalted  qualities  which 

afterward  raised  them  both  to  the  acme  of  glory. 

At  this  time,  Penobscot  Bay,  and  the  adjoining  country. 
21 


150  NAVAL  HEROES. 

was  in  possession  of  the  British  forces.  How  much  benefit 
the  possession  of  it  was  to  Britain  or  detriment  to  Ameri- 
ca, cannot  well  be  calculated,  considering  the  state  of  that 
portion  of  the  country  at  that  period.  At  any  rate,  in  the 
war  of  1812,  the  British  forces  were  permitted  by  the  con- 
stituted authorities  of  Massachusetts,  to  remain  for  a  long 
time  in  peaceable  and  undisturbed  possession  of  a  large 
portion  of  the  State  of  Maine  ;  and  Castine,  became  a  com- 
mercial, rather  than  a  naval  depot. 

The  British  had  erected  considerable  batteries  upon  the 
shore,  and  had  a  considerable  marine  force  in  the  harbour. 
Capt.  Little  and  Lieut.  Preble  conceived  the  daring  design 
of  capturing  a  heavy  armed  ship  and  her  tender,  as  they 
lay  at  their  moorings.  The  design  was  to  be  executed  in 
the  night  season,  and  Lieut.  Preble  was  honoured  with  the 
immediate  command  of  the  expedition.  Forty  dauntless 
New-Englanders  were  selected  to  accompany  the  gallant 
Lieutenant.  To  avoid  confusion  arising  in  a  night  battle, 
from  mistaking  friends  for  foes,  the  Americans  were  all  clad 
in  white  frocks.  The  enterprize  was  a  most  desperate 
one.  When  every  thing  was  ready,  and  a  night  favoura- 
ble to  the  expedition  came  round,  Capt.  Little  bore  into 
the  harbour,  and  alongside  the  British  ship.  The  unsus- 
pecting enemy  supposed  the  Winthrop  to  be  their  tender. 
The  sea  was  running  high  ;  and  the  sentry  of  the  British 
ship  excleimed — "  You  will  run  us  aboard  !"  The  cool  and 
collected  Preble,  in  a  tone  of  decision,  answered — "  Aye, 
aye,  we  are  coming  aboard."  His  forty  "  white  frocks" 
were  all  ready  to  follow  him  ;  but  from  the  head  way  the 
Winthrop  had  made,  and  the  state  of  the  waves,  but  four- 
teen could  follow  him  to  the  deck  of  the  British  ship. 

The  solicitude  of  Capt.  Little  was  excited  to  the  high- 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  151 

est  pitch  at  the  situation  of  Lieut.  Preble,  and  his  fourteen 
fearless  comrades.  When  doubtful  of  the  result  of  the  ar- 
duous contest  between  fourteen  of  his  crew,  and  over  200 
British  seamen,  he  hailed  Lieut.  Preble,  and  demanded  of 
him  "  Do  you  not  want  more  men  ?"  Lieut.  Preble,  with 
the  thundering  voice  of  a  stentor,  answered,  "  No,  Sir!  we 
have  more  than  we  want;  we  stand  in  each  other's  way  j" 
and  suddenly  rushed  into  the  cabin  of  the  ship,  full  armed, 
and  found  the  officers,  who  had  been  disturbed  by  the  noise 
upon  deck,  just  "turning  out."  The  intrepid  Lieutenant 
said  to  them  :  "  You  are  my  prisoners — resistance  is  vain 
— and,  if  attempted,  may  prove  fatal  to  you."  The  panic- 
struck  enemy  leaped  over  the  gunwale  of  the  ship,  and 
through  the  cabin-windows  into  the  water  and  swam  to  the 
shore,  or  were  drowned. 

Complete  possession  having  been  gained  of  the  ship,  and 
Lieut.  Preble,  being  about  to  bear  his  prize  out  of  the  har- 
bour, the  batteries  commenced  a  cannonade  upon  the  Win- 
throp  and  the  captured  ship.  The  British  troops  rallied — 
rushed  to  the  shore,  and  poured  harmless  vollies  of  mus- 
ketry upon  the  two  ships  which  were  sailing  triumphantly 
out  of  the  harbour  of  Penobscot.  Their  cannon  had  an 
elevation  so  great,  that  it  was  fruitless  to  attempt  to  ob- 
struct their  passage  out  of  the  harbour.  Neither  ihe  hulls 
or  rigging  of  the  Winthrop  or  the  prize  received  the  least 
injury.  The  "striped  bunting"  waved  proudly  over  St. 
Georges  Cross  ;  and  the  gallant  Little  and  Preble  conduct- 
ed their  valuable  prize  triumphantly  into  Boston  harbour. 
The  little  glory  which  British  arms  acquired  in  taking  Pe- 
nobscot, was  more  than  counterbalanced  by  losing  this 
ship  ;  and  the  victors  were  remunerated  for  the  loss  of  the 
\dmiral  Duff,  which  blew  up  after  she  was  captured. 


152  NAVAL  HEROES. 

The  contest  between  America  and  Britain  was  now  draw- 
ing to  a  conclusion,  by  the  commencement  of  negotiations  ; 
but  Lieut.  Preble  continued  to  fill  the  station  of  first  Lieu- 
tenant on  board  the  Winthrop,  in  the  active  and  vigilant 
discharge  of  his  duty  until  the  treaty  of  Peace  was  ratified 
in  1783. 

Thus  early  and  brilliant  was  the  commencement  of  Ed- 
waku  Preble's  life  in  the  naval  profession — a  profession 
for  which  he  was  peculiarly  adapted  by  nature,  and  to 
which  he  became  ardently  attached  by  inclination  and 
habit. 

But  the  conclusion  of  peace  with  Britain,  and  the  com- 
manding attitude  which  the  American  Republic  assumed 
as  a  Sovereign  and  Independent  Nation,  was  the  annihila- 
tion of  the  little  gallant  marine  force  which  had  accom- 
plished such  wonderful  effects  upon  the  enemy.  Such  gal- 
lant spirits  as  Bidole,  Jones,  Murray,  Nicholson,  Man- 
ly, Hardin,  Tucker,  Decatur  the  elder,  and  a  long  list 
of  naval  heroes,  who  had  encountered  the  convoys  of  Bri- 
tish fleets  of  merchantment,  or  British  armed  ships  and 
fleets  themselves,  were  now  driven  from  their  darling  pur- 
suits as  naval  officers. 

The  Republic,  although  independent  as  it  regarded  the 
privilege  oi^e!f-government,  were  destitute  of  the  "ways 
and  means"  to  sustain  a  respectable  naval  force.  The  of- 
ficers of  the  Army  as  well  as  those  of  the  Navy,  were  com- 
pelled, while  the  wounds  they  received  in  the  cause  of  their 
beloved  country  were  hardly  healed,  to  retire,  unreward- 
ed— the  first  to  tneir  farms ;  the  second  to  the  merchant- ser- 
vice, as  a  mean  of  subsistence.  The  few  little  armed  ships 
were  converted  into  merchantmen,  to  strive  to  regain  by 
commerce  what  the  States  of  the  Republic  had  lost  by 
war. 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  153 

Lieut.  Preble  returned  to  his  native  town  and  commen- 
ced the  business  of  a  seaman  in  the  merchant  service.  It 
would  be  thought  by  a  British  naval  officer  to  be  degrada- 
tion itself  to  leave  the  quarter  deck  of  a  frigate,  sloop  of 
war,  or  any  other  armed  ship,  belonging  to  the  government 
under  which  they  had  served,  to  enter  on  board  an  India, 
man,  West  India  trader,  or  coaster.  But  Americans,  at 
that  epoch  of  their  progress  to  national  glory,  knew  well 
how  to  aid  the  infant  Republic  in  any  station.  They 
knew  also  that  individual  wealth  would  ultimately  add  to 
the  treasures  of  their  native  country,  while  it  would  furnish 
them  with  the  enjoyments  of  individual  necessaries,  con- 
veniences, and  luxuries. 

Lieut.  Preble,  at  about  this  period  of  his  age,  entered 
into  matrimonial  life.  Although  a  stern  commander  upon 
the  ocean,  he  was  not  insensible  to  the  fascinating  and  al- 
luring charms  of  domestic  life.  His  bosom  companion 
happened  to  possess  the  noble  and  exalted  sentiments  of 
her  husband. 

He  now  entered,  with  his  usual  ardour,  into  the  business 
of  commerce, — to  make  provision  for  a  family  ; — knowing 
well  that  his  fame  as  an  ocean  warrior,  would  be  but  a 
miserable  support  for  a  domestic  establishment  upon  land. 
He  lived  in  the  midst  of  a  commercial  people,  and  was  sur- 
rounded by  the  most  accomplished  and  adventurous  sea- 
men. He  could  not  endure  a  state  of  inactivity.  He  en- 
tered into  the  business  of  a  seaman,  with  the  same  energy 
he  did,  when  he  entered  into  the  contest  with  the  enemies 
of  his  country. 

He  was  fully  aware  that  national  wealth  was  the  sinew 
of  national  glory.  He  was  also  sensible  that  individual 
wealth  added  essentially  to  individual  consequence  ;  and 


154  NAVAL  HEROES. 

enabled  the  possessor  of  it  to  accomplish  objects  beyond 
the  reach  of  want  and  dependance.  Although  but  few 
commercial  treaties  were  established  between  the  Repub- 
lic and  other  commercial  nations  in  the  eastern  continent, 
yet  the  name  of  an  American  was  a  passport  through  the 
world,  for  the  glory  his  country  had  acquired  for  manfully 
struggling  for,  and  securing  national  independence.  Eve- 
ry keel  that  wafted  from  the  American  Republic  to  the 
ports  of  Europe,  Asia,  or  Africa,  were  welcomed  as  coming 
from  the  most  energetic  and  exalted  race  of  men  who  ex- 
isted in  the  eighteenth  century,  and  were  generally  treated 
on  terms  "  equal  to  the  most  favoured  nations." 

Lieut.  Preble,  was  one  amongst  the  numerous  American 
navigators,  who  had  aided,  by  his  courage,  in  acquiring  the 
high  rank  his  country  sustained  ;  and  while  acquiring 
wealth  by  commercial  pursuits,  he  was  remembered  and 
admired  as  one  of  the  young  and  gallant  champions  of 
American  Independence. 

From  the  conclusion  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  the 
commercial  enterprise  of  Americans  surpassed  every  pre- 
vious example  from  the  discovery  of  the  magnetic  needle 
to  that  period.  The  torrid,  the  temperate,  and  the  frigid 
zones  witnessed  the  presence  of  this  "New  People,"  and 
their  canvas  whitened  every  sea  and  ocean.  While  the 
kingdoms  of  the  "  Old  World"  were  expending  their  treas- 
ures, and  tearing  from  their  subjects  the  hard-earned  pit- 
tance of  their  labour  to  sustain  thrones  which  began  to  tot- 
ter before  the  majestic  march  of  liberty  whicli  moved  from 
the  Republic  in  the  Western  World.  While  immense 
standing  armies  covered  the  realms  of  monarchs,  and  vast 
fleets  afforded  wooden  walls  to  their  shores.  While  eas- 
tern empires  and  kingdoms  were  rising  to  the  height  of 


COM.   EDWARD  PREBLE.  155 

glory,  and  sinking  to  the  depths  of  corruption,  Americans, 
better  understanding  the  nature  of  true  national  glory, — 
that  which  produces  the  greatest  possible  happiness  to  the 
greatest  number  of  people,  were  peaceably  pursuing  a  lu- 
crative commerce,  and  with  unparalleled  rapidity  were 
accumulating  national  and  individual  wealth.  They  grew 
rich,  not  by  rapine  and  plunder,  but  out  of  the  follies,  vices, 
and  ambition  of  other  nations. 

It  would  be  an  useless  waste  of  time,  for  the  writer  to  de- 
tail, and  for  the  reader  to  peruse  the  various  pursuits  of 
Edward  Preble  in  the  seasons  of  peace.  However  delight- 
ful peaceful  scenes  may  be  in  the  enjoyment  of  them,  they 
■are  generally  tame,  and  uninteresting  in  description.  The 
biography  of  this  energetic  American,  need  not  be  pro- 
tracted by  expatiating  upon  the  same  events  of  his  life, 
which  are  common  with  many  of  his  humbler  countrymen, 
whose  names  were  never  heard  beyond  the  sound  of  the 
parish  bell  where  they  were  born,  and  whose  graves  can  be 
discovered  only  by  the  humble  stone,  which  humble  friends 
have  erected. 

The  biography  of  Edward  Preble,  is  vastly  more  fertile 
in  incidents,  than  that  of  Samuel  Johnson  ;  yet  the  "  Laird 
of  Auchinleck"  by  detailing  the  little,  puerile  minutiaes  of 
that  giant  of  literature,  as  he  was  glad  to  be  called,  and  as 
Bozzy,  parrot-like,  was  happy  to  repeat,  has  extended  his 
life  to  three  huge  octavos.  What  would  the  '•  Tars  of  Co- 
lumbia" think,  in  taking  up  the  "  Life  of  Preble,"  their 
departed  naval  father,  and  instead  of  learning  what  he  had 
been  doing,  while  alive,  worth  reading,  they  should  be  told, 
that  he  went  to  the  barbers  upon  Saturday,  and  dined  upon 
fish — to  church  upon  Sunday,  and  dined  upon  roast  beef — 
that  upon  Monday  he  cut  his  nails,  and  drank  one  glass  of 


]  56  JS  AVAL  HEROES. 

wine — upon  Tuesday  he  changed  his  linen — upon  Wed- 
nesday looked  into  the  harbour  with  his  spy-glass  and 
scoured  the  rust  from  his  quadrant — upon  Thursday  (if  it 
was  thanksgiving-day.)  he  ate  turkey,  plumb-pudding,  and 
pumpkin-pie — upon  Friday  (if  it  was  "  Good  Friday,")  he^ 
ate  no  butter  upon  his  bread,  drank  no  cream  with  his 
coffee,  nor  brandy  with  his  water.  "  Avaust  there  !  blind 
my  top-lights — stun  my  hearers,  if  I  bring  the  first  into  ac- 
tion, to  look  at  such  blarney,  or  the  last,  to  hear  the  report 
of  it."  This,  or  something  more  nautical,  would  be  their 
exclamation.     But  badinage  aside. 

Thanks  to  the  noble,  daring,  and  gallant  achievements 
of  our  valiant  countrymen,  their  lives  are  pregnant  with- 
deeds  worthy  of  detailing  and  worthy  of  reading. 

It  might  be  amusing  to  follow  Preble  as  a  master  in  the 
merchants  service  through  the  various  voyages  he  made 
to  various  portions  of  the  globe  ;  but  there  was  nothing  in 
them  to  distinguish  his  from  the  voyages  of  other  masters. 
The  same  breeze  that  wafted  this  hero  of  the  Revolution 
from  the  ports  of  the  Republic  to  those  of  foreign  domin- 
ions, wafted  also  thousands  of  his  own  countrymen  whose 
names  were  to  be  found  in  no  higher  register  than  the  ledg- 
er in  the  counting  room  ;  the  files  of  the  custom-house,  or 
the  marine  list  of  a  gazette. 

While  Mr.  Preble  was  thus  engaged  in  the  unostentatious 
pursuits  of  commerce,  the  government  of  the  Republic  was 
preparing  the  only  effectual  safeguard  for  that  commerce — 
a  Navy. 

It  would  illy  comport  with  the  limits  of  this  Sketch,  and 
be  but  repeating  what  the  writer  has  attempted  in  the  Biog- 
raphy of  Com.  Murray,  to  dilate  upon  the  immense  im- 
portance of  Naval  Power  to  our  Commercial  Republic. 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  157 

its  efficiency  and  its  absolute  necessity  too,  seem  now  to  be 
admitted  by  all.  But  in  the  administration  of  John  Ad- 
ams, who  is  emphatically  denominated  The  Father  of  the 
American  Navy,  the  question  called  forth  the  talents  of 
the  greatest  men  in  the  nation,  as  the  Journals  of  Congress 
for  1797,  and  '98,  will  show.  Our  navy  was  commenced 
in  the  face  of  potent  opposition — it  struggled  into  exist- 
ence— sustained  itself  by  its  early  achievements,  and  has 
now  fought  itself  into  glory. 

As  soon  as  any  of  the  frigates,  or  vessels  of  inferior  rates 
were  fitted  for  sea,  Edward  Preble  was  remembered  as  the 
gallant  Lieutenant  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and  was 
placed  in  command  of  the  brig  Pickering. 

In  this  active  craft,  the  Lieutenant  rendered  immense 
service  in  convoying  American  merchantmen,  and  protect- 
ing them  from  French  picaroons.  Such  services,  although 
they  seldom  call  forth  "  Public  Thanks,"  public  applause, 
splendid  swords,  or  gold  medals,  are  neverthelss  rewarded 
by  the  thankfulness  and  gratitude  of  Americans,  who  enjoy 
the  protection  and  the  independence  which  is  thus  secured 
to  them. 

Lieut.  Preble,  less  fortunate  than  his  senior  in  the  revo- 
lution, Capt.  George  Little,  had  not,  like  him,  an  oppor- 
tunity in  this  war,  to  distinguish  himself  by  any  brilliant 
achievement.  Had  Preble  have  been  in  command  of  the 
Frigate  Boston,  the  La  P'irceau  would  have  met  with  the 
fate  she  experienced. 

Capt.  Preble  will  now  be  presented  to  the  reader  of  these 
imperfect  sketches  of  his  eventful  life,  in  a  capacity  in 
which  he  was  calculated  to  shine,  and  in  which  he  shone 
most  conspicuously. 

After  the  salutary  chastisement  which  French  and  Span- 
22 


158  NAVAL  HEROES. 

ish  picaroons  received,  in  the  administration  of  Mr.  Ad- 
ams, from  Capts.  Little,  Truxton,  Murray,  the  senior  De- 
catur, and  the  gallant  constellation  of  heroes  in  the  naval 
warfare,  between  America  and  France,  Capt.  Preble  was 
appointed  to  the  command  of  that  wonder-working  ship, 
the  Frigate  Essex,  of  36  guns. 

In  1 800,  it  was  deemed  expedient  to  despatch  an  Amer- 
ican frigate  to  the  East  Indies,  to  protect  the  immense 
amount  of  American  trade  in  those  seas. 

The  presence  of  a  single  frigate  in  the  commercial  ports 
of  that  country,  immediately  after  the  splendid  victories 
over  Le  Insurgente,  Le  Berceau,  and  other  French  ships, 
indicated  to  every  power  that  were  guilty  of  the  least  en- 
croachment upon  American  commerce,  what  their  fate 
would  be. 

Capt.  Preble  introduced  into  his  frigate  that  inimitable 
discipline — that  nautical  skill — that  familiarity  with  naval 
tactics — that  skill  in  gunnery — that  system  of  police  in  an 
armed  ship,  which  distinguished  the  squadron  he  afterwards 
commanded  in  the  Mediterranean,  and  which  now  gives 
American  officers  and  seamen,  a  rank  above  all  other  offi- 
cers and  seamen  in  the  fleets,  squadrons,  and  ships,  of  any 
naval  power  on  the  earth.  He  finished  his  cruise  and  re- 
turned to  America. 

'  Omitting  numerous  incidents  in  the  life  of  Preble,  the 
detail  of  which  would  be  inconsistent  with  the  limits  of  this 
sketch,  I  now  attempt  briefly  to  narrate  the  events  of  his 
life,  while  commanding  the  American  squadron  in  the 
Mediterranean. 

The  kingdoms,  most  justly  denominated  Barbary  States, 
upon  the  northern  coast  of  Africa,  including  Morocco,  Al- 
giers, Tripoli  and  Tunis,  and  all  owing  allegiance  to  the 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  159 

Sultan  at  Constantinople,  the  head  of  that  vast  race  of  hu- 
man beings  called  Mahometans,  have,  for  many  centuries 
past,  mercilessly  preyed  upon  that  portion  of  men  called 
Christians,  who  prosecuted  commerce  in  the  Mediterrane- 
an, the  largest  and  most  renowned  sea  known  to  men. 

It  would  be  sickening  to  the  philanthropic  heart  to  detail, 
or  to  read,  the  diabolical  cruelty  of  these  infernal  descend- 
ants of  Ishmael,  and  ferocious  disciples  of  Mahomet,  to- 
wards every  portion  of  the  Christian  race,  whose  commer- 
cial pursuits  lead  them  within  their  barbarous  grasp.  Too 
powerful  to  be  resisted  by  unarmed  merchantmen,  their 
corsairs,  for  ages,  have  sacrificed  the  wealth  and  made 
miserable  slaves  of  the  crews  of  merchant  vessels. 

If  captured  in  the  Mediterranean,  they  are  incarcerated 
in  dungeons,  chained  to  the  galley,  or  treated  like  beasts  of 
burthen.  If  wrecked  upon  the  iron-bound  coast,  they  be- 
come still  more  despairing  slaves  to  those  demons  incarnate, 
the  Wandering  Arabs  ;  and  in  a  state  of  hopeless  destitu- 
tion, are  compelled  to  wander,  with  naked  bodies,  parch- 
ing thirst,  and  famishing  frames,  over  that  vast,  outspread 
scene  of  cheerless  desolation,  the  Desart  of  Zahara. 

The  cruelties  of  these  children  of  wrath  towards  unfortu- 
nate Christians,  whom  they  denominate  kellup  ensaurah, 
(Christian  dogs)  can  hardly,  be  described  in  Christian  lan- 
guage. 

In  hearing  the  pathetic  and  heart-rending  narration  of 
Archibald  Robbins  ;  (a  miserable  slave  for  about  two 
years,  but  thanks  to  redeeming  mercy,  and  the  smiles  of 
Providence,  now  a  respectable  commander  in  the  merchant- 
service)  and  by  attempting  to  present,  his  oral  communi- 
cation in  "  Robbins'  Journal,"  impressions  were  made  up- 
on the  mind  of  the  writer  which  nothing  can  eradicate,  and 


160  NAVAL  HEROES. 

which  may  have  led  to  the  use  of  language,  which  one  race 
of  imperfect  human  beings  ought  not  to  use  towards  anoth- 
er. Human,  indeed  they  must  be  admitted  to  be,  for  their 
origin  can  be  traced  to  the  most  ancient  race  of  men  ;  but 
their  principles  and  conduct  would  do  credit  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  devil  himself,  if  the  inspired  Job,  and  the  half 
inspired  Milton  have  afforded  a  correct  picture  of  that  in- 
vsible  being. 

Nations  the  most  powerful  by  land  and  by  sea,  have  for 
ages  obtained  a  temporary  suspension  from  the  wrath  of 
these  Ishmaelitish  pirates,  whose  "  hands  are  against  every 
man,"  by  paying  them  tribute,  as  the  price  of  peace,  and 
ransom  for  the  redemption  of  their  enslaved  cpuntrymen. 

It  is  almost  invariably  the  practice  with  these  detested 
robbers  against  all  mankind,  to  make  war  against  other  na- 
tions who  are  warring  with  each  other  ;  especially  against 
that  nation  whom  they  consider  the  weakest.  Until  within 
eighteen  years  past,  these  untutored  barbarians,  and  half- 
civilized  hottentots,  considered  Americans  as  a  mere  fee- 
ble race  of  merchantmen.  Hence  in  the  naval  warfare 
with  France  in  1798,  &c.  the  Tripolitan  corsairs  commen- 
ced a  destructive  war  upon  American  commerce.  When 
that  contest  ended  so  gloriously  for  our  little  naval  power, 
these  vaunting  marauders  were  to  learn  the  American  char- 
acter in  a  new  light. 

From  1801  to  1803,  a  small  naval  force,  commanded  the 
first  squadron  by  Com.  Dale,  the  second  by  Com.  Murray, 
the  third  by  Com.  Morris,  and  the  fourth  by  Com.  Rodg- 
ers,  had  been  in  the  Mediterranean  ;  but  were  barely  suffi- 
cient to  menace  the  ports  of  Tripoli,  awe  their  Corsairs 
and  hold  in  check  Morocco,  which  kingdom  also  had  com- 
mitted depredations  upon  Americans.     This  rapid  sketch 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  161 

was  deemed  expedient  to  prepare  the  mind  of  the  reader  to 
follow  the  determined,  gallant,  and  conquering  Preble, 
and  his  unrivalled  comrades,  in  compelling  the  proud  Cres- 
cent of  the  Turks  to  fall  before  the  Stars  and  Stripes  of 
America. 

The  American  government,  at  peace  with  all  the  world  ; 
with  a  commerce  expanded  over  every  sea  and  ocean — 
with  a  fine  little  naval  force  unemployed,  and  with  officers 
and  seamen  ardently  panting  for  an  opportunity  to  sustain, 
and,  if  possible,  to  augment  the  glory  of  the  American  na- 
vy acquired  in  the  contest  with  France,  determined  in 
]  803  to  effect  suddenly,  what  all  the  kingdoms  of  Chris- 
tendom had  not  effected  in  centuries.  This  determination 
was  worthy  of  the  only  real  Republic  on  earth  ;  and  Ed- 
ward Preble  as  well  qualified  as  any  man  on  earth  to  ex- 
ecute it. 

His  achievements  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution — in  the 
naval  warfare  with  France — his  subsequent  acquaintance 
with  navigation  and  commerce — his  recent  cruise  in  the 
Essex  to  the  coast  and  ports  of  the  East- Indies,  and,  to 
crown  the  climax  of  his  high  qualities,  his  cool  determina- 
tion, and  dauntless  courage  nointed  him  out  to  his  govern- 
ment as  Commander  in  Chief,  with  an  augmented  force  to 
relieve  the  little  squadron  in  the  Mediterranean,  then  com- 
manded by  the  active  and  vigilant  Com.  Rodgers.  This 
appointment  was  made  in  June  1803. 

It  appears  from  the  archives  in  the  navy  department, 
that  the  government  not  only  felt  but  expressed  their  high 
estimation  of  Com.  Preble.  The  language  of  the  depart- 
ment to  him  is,  "  Reposing  in  your  skill,  judgment  and  bra- 
vert/,  the  highest  degree  of  confidence,  the  President  has  de- 
termined to  commit,  the  command  of  this  squadron  to  your  di~ 


im'  NAVAL  HEROEb. 

rection"  &c.  &c.  It  was  in  reality  the  most  important 
command  with  which  any  naval  officer  had  been  invested 
since  the  adoption  of  the  American  Constitution.  He  was 
sensible  of  this  ;  and  elegantly  said  "  /  am  fully  aware  of 
the  great  trust  and  responsibility  oj  this  appointment.  The 
honour  of  the  American  flag  is  very  dear  to  me  ;  and  I  hope 
it  will  not  be  tarnished  under  my  command.''1  I  am  indebt- 
ed to  the  politeness  and  urbanity  of  Com.  Macdonough 
for  the  following  list  of  vessels,  their  rate,  and  their  com- 
manders in  Com.  Preble's  squadron,  when  he  entered  the 
Mediterranean  ;  made  from  recollection. 
Frigate  Constitution,  44  (flag  ship)  Com.  Preble. 
"      Philadelphia,     44  -         Capt.  Bainbridge. 

Brig  Argus,  18        -  Lieut.  Hull. 

"     Syren,  16  -         Capt.  Stewart. 

Schr.   Vixen,  16         -  Lieut.  Smith. 

"     Nautilus,  16  -         Lieut.  Somers. 

"     Enterprize,        14         -  Lieut.  S.  Decatur. 

It  would  be  a  source  of  the  highest  pleasure  to  the  wri- 
ter, and  undoubtedly  a  gratification  to  the  reader  to  be 
furnished  with  a  Register  of  all  the  commissioned  and 
warrant  officers,  attached  to  this  justly  renowned  squadron. 
Many  gallant  young  Lieutenants,  and  Midshipmen,  till 
then  unknown  to  their  country  and  to  the  world,  are  now 
enrolled  in  the  Naval  Register  in  the  temple  of  fame.* 

Commodore  Preble  hoisted  his  broad  pendant  on  board 
the  frigate  Constitution,  now  emphatically  called  "  Old 
Iron  sides."  With  a  rapidity  of  sailing  in  squadron  sur- 
passed only  by  the  squadron  of  Com.  Decatur  in  1815,  he 
entered  the  Mediterranean  Sept.  12th,  1803. 

That  peculiar  reserve  and  retiring  modesty,  which  dis- 
tinguishes American  naval  officers,  while  it  spreads  a  lus- 

*  See  close  of  the  sketch  of  Com.  Preble. 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  16; 

're  over  their  splendid  achievements,  is,  nevertheless,  a 
source  of  regret  to  those  who  would  ponder  with  all  the 
rapture  of* delight  over  the  record  of  their  brilliant  actions. 
It  seems  to  be  an  invariable  determination  with  them,  nev- 
er to  speak  in  detail  of  gallant  deeds  in  which  they  were 
principal  actors  ;  and,  excepting  their  extremely  brief  of- 
ficial accounts'  transmitted  to  their  government,  the  bio- 
graphical writer  can  learn  nothing  from  them.  Other 
sources  of  information  must  therefore  be  assiduously 
sought,  and  the  labour  of  research  must  be  endured. 

As  it  regards  that  portion  of  Com.  Preble's  brilliant  ca- 
reer, as  commander  of  the  American  conquering  squadron 
in  the  Mediterranean,  it  might  well  occupy  a  volume.  If 
given  in  detail,  it  would  be  a  history  of  American  prowess 
in  that  renowned  sea,  which  from  the  earliest  periods  of 
Carthage,  Greece,  Rome,  and  Syracuse,  to  near  the  close 
of  the  first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century,  ha-s  been  the 
theatre  of  the  most  interesting  and  astonishing  events  in 
the  civilized  world. — It  would  be  the  description  of  the 
American  Naval  School,  where  the  present  brilliant  con- 
stellation of  naval  officers  obtained  the  first  rudiments  of 
their  noble  profession. 

Previous  to  the  arrival  of  Com.  Preble  with  his  squad- 
ron, his  predecessor,  Com.  Rodgers,  and  then  Capt.  Bain- 
bridge,  had  detained  some  Moorish  armed  ships,  by  way 
of  retaliation  for  the  Capture  of  American  merchantmen. 

The  emperor  of  .Morocco,  who  considers  himself  as  a 
sort  of  Grand  Sultan  over  the  Mahometans  of  Africa,  and 
feels  the  most  sovereign  contempt  for  the  feebler  Christian 
powers,  assumed  the  most  hostile  attitude  towards  Amer- 
icans, and  detained  the  venerable  James  Simpson,  Ameri- 
can Consul  General,  who  received  his  appointment  from 


164  NAVAL  HEROES. 

Washington  ;  and  who  had  remained  at  Tangier,  in  Mo 
rocco  until  that  time.     As  the  difficulty  with  Morocco  was 
so  suddenly  settled,  it  will  not  be  minutely  detailed. 

Com.  Rodgers,  although  relieved  by  Com.  Preble,  with 
a  magnanimity  and  patriotism  characteristic  of  his  whole 
naval  and  official  life,  consented,  on  request,  to  remain  in 
the  squadron  with  his  ships,  until  affairs  were  determined 
by  negotiation  or  bombardment,  with  the  emperor,  who 
had  repaired  to  Tangier  with  more  than  5000  men. 

Com.  Preble,  with  the  Constitution  and  Nautilus,  Lieut. 
Somers,  bore,  in  the  most  gallant  style,  into  the  bay  of  Tan- 
gier, and  laid  them  within  gun-shot  of  the  extensive  and 
powerful  batteries  before  that  city,  the  strongest  and  most 
important  in  the  empire  of  Morocco,  upon  the  5th  of  Oc- 
ber,  1803.  Com.  Rodgers  joined  him  with  the  frigates 
New  York  and  John  Adams. 

He  wished  to  communicate  with  the  American  consul  ; 
but  sentinels  were  placed  at  the  door  of  the  consular  resi- 
dence, and  an  interview  between  him  and  the  commander 
of  the  American  squadron,  was  thus  inhibited. 

Ambassadors,  Plenipotentiaries,  Ministers,  and  Consuls, 
are,  by  the  acknowledged  law  of  nations,  considered  as  the 
representatives  of  the  governments  from  which  they  de- 
rive their  authority  ;  and  any  indignity  offered  to  them,  is 
considered  as  an  insult  to  the  nation  they  represent. 

The  American  commander  was  aware  of  this ;  and  made 
every  preparation  in  his  squadron  to  sustain  the  dignity  of 
the  American  Republic. 

The  enthusiasm  of  his  officers,  seamen  and  marines,  cor- 
responded with  his  own.  They  were  at  quarters  night  and 
day  ;  and,  upon  a  given  signal,  were  ready  to  perish  them 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  16^ 

selves,  or  make  the  imperious  Mahometans  on  shore  bow 
io  Christian  thunder  upon  the  waves. 

A  description  of  the  batteries  at  Tangier,  a  part  of 
which,  are  in  the  form  of  a  crescent,  and  commanding  the 
whole  bay,  might  be  amusing  to  the  reader.  But  as  the 
power  of  them  was  not  tried  upon  the  commodore's  little 
squadron,  nor  the  force  and  skill  of  the  squadron  upon 
(hem,  it  is  omitted. 

The  next  day,  the  emperor,  surrounded  by  his  numerous 
and  splendid  retinue,  and  at  the  head  of  his  powerful  army, 
appeared  in  full  view  of  the  American  squadron. 

Com.  Preble,  as  is  customary  with  civilized  nations  at 
peace  with  each  other,  saluted  the  Emperor  from  his  ship — 
the  Emperor  saluted  the  Commodore  from  his  batteries, 
and  sent,  as  a  token  of  peace,  a  few  Moorish  bullocks, 
sheep,  and  fowls,  which  were  politely  received  by  the 
commodore. 

Previous  to  this,  Com.  Preble  had  ordered  the  ships  of 
his  squadron  to  bring  in  all  Moorish  vessels  which  fell  in 
their  way,  by  way  of  reprisal  for  the  capture  of  American 
vessels  ;  and  this  order  was  still  in  force. 

From  the  pacific  conduct  of  the  Emperor,  amidst  his 
warlike  armaments,  he  was  convinced  that  he  was  anxious 
to  effect  a  pacification  between  the  American  government 
and  his  empire.  But  to  effect  this,  was  only  a  secondary 
object  with  the  energetic  Preble.  His  primary  object  was, 
the  subjugation  of  the  Bashaw  of  Tripoli,  whose  aggres- 
sions had  been  vastly  more  aggravating.  But  he  saw  that 
this  was  the  time  to  prevent  a  protracted  negotiation  with 
Morocco,  and,  in  conjunction  with  the  two  American  con- 
suls, James  Simpson  and  Tobias  Lear,  was  determined  to 

effect  a  peace  speedilv. 

23 


166  iNAVAL  HEROES. 

He  brought  his  squadron  to  within  a  few  cables'  length 
of  the  batteries,  and  assumed  the  most  warlike  appearance, 
upon  the  7th  and  the  8th,  in  full  view  of  the  Emperor,  who. 
upon  the  9th,  relieved  the  American  consul  from  his  re- 
straint, and  condescended  to  permit  him  to  have  an  inter- 
view with  the  American  commander !  Such  was  the  sud- 
den change  of  the  feelings  of  a  powerful  prince,  conscious 
of  his  aggressions,  when  beholding  the  slender  force  of  an 
unoffending  Republic,  determined  to  avenge  them. 

The  sagacious  Commodore,  however,  was  fully  aware  of 
the  faithless  and  perfidious  conduct  of  the  disciples  of  Ma- 
homet towards  all  the  people  of  Christendom ;  and,  in  hb 
peculiar  critical  situation,  resolved  to  prepare,  as  well  as 
he  could,  for  the  worst  possible  emergency. 

At  his  interview  with  the  American  Consul,  he  was  in- 
formed that  the  Emperor  would  give  "  audience"  to  him  on 
shore  upon  the  l  Oth.*  This  dauntless  son  of  the  ocean 
could  speak  more  audibly  from  his  squadron  than  from  his 
lips  ;  but  as  the  potent  prince  had  invited  him  to  a  tete  a 
tete,  he  was  resolved  to  be  heard,  in  human  language,  and 
be  a  pacificator  on  shore  for  once. 

Upon  the  10th,  in  the  morning.  Com.  Preble  prepared 
to  go  on  shore  with  only  four  attendants.!     Before  leaving 

*  In  a  London  paper  in  1779,  is  found  this  article- 
Gibraltar,  Sept.  18 — We  hear  that  the  Emperor  of  Morocco  hatW 
refused  to  give  an  audience  to  Mr.  Logie,  the  English  Consul,  and 
that  he  will  neither  admit  him  into  his  presence,  nor  receive  the  pre- 
sents from  his  court." 

Little  did  the  imperious  court  of  Britain  suppose  that  a  young  Lieu 
tenant  in  the  then  "  rebel  marine,"   would,  twentj-nve  years  after, 
awe  the  Emperor,  and  be  "  admitted  into  his  presence,"  full  armed, 
and  compel  him  to  respect  "American  Rebels." 
|  Consul  Simpson,  his  Secretary,  Charles  Morris,  and  two  midshipmen. 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  167 

ihe  Constitution,  he  addressed  the  officers  of  his  squadron, 
as  near  as  could  be  recollected,  in  these  energetic  terms  : 
"  Comrades — The  result  of  the  approaching  interview  is 
known  only  to  God.  Be  it  what  it  may,  during  my  ab- 
sence, keep  ships  clear  for  action — let  every  officer  and 
seaman  be  at  his  quarters  : — and,  if  the  least  injury  is  of- 
fered to  my  person,  immediately  attack  the  batteries,  the 
castles,  the  city,  and  the  troops,  totally  regardless  of  me  or 
my  personal  safety." 

As  represented  by  a  spectator,  and  actor  in  this  scene, 
(Mr.  Morris)  it  was  one  of  the  most  solemn  and  interesting 
that  can  be  conceived,  and  the  efforts  of  the  pen  and  the 
pencil  would  equally  lag  behind  reality  in  the  description. 

The  mosques,  towers,  terraces,  and  dwellings  of  Tan- 
gier were  crowded  with  spectators.  Five  thousand  full 
armed  Moorish  troops  were  drawn  up  in  double  files,  form- 
ing a  lengthened  vista,  rendered  brilliant  by  burnished  mus- 
kets, sabres,  and  scimetars.  The  Emperor,  in  the  splen- 
did costume  of  Eastern  monarchs,  surrounded  by  a  numer- 
ous retinue  of  princes,  courtiers,  alcades  and  guards,  was 
seated  upon  a  spangled  carpet  spread  out  in  his  castle. 

The  bay  presented  a  view,  less  variegated,  but  no  less  in- 
teresting. The  frigates  Constitution,  New-York,  and  John 
Adams,  and  brig  Nautilus,  with  colors  hoisted,  were  arran- 
ged with  all  the  masterly  skill  of  naval  tacticians. 

Com.  Preble  and  his  attendants  descended  from  the  quar- 
ter deck  of  the  Constitution,  upon  which  his  broad  pend- 
ant was  proudly  waving,  into  his  barge,  and  was  rowed  to 
the  shore. 

Full  dressed  and  full  armed,  he  landed,  near  the  fortress. 
The  Emperor's  oflicer  requested  him  to  lay  off  his  arms. 
With  manly  dignity,  he  promptly  declined  it.     With  a  firm 


168  NAVAL  HEROES. 

and  dignified  step,  he  approached  towards  the  Emperor, 
through  the  double  files  of  Moorish  troops,  viewing  them 
as  calmly  as  he  passed  along,  as  a  general  would  review  a 
regiment  in  time  of  peace.  Upon  reaching  the  Emperor, 
he  was  requested  to  kneel,  pursuant  to  custom.  Upon  de- 
clining it,  the  ceremony  was  dispensed  with.  The  Empe- 
ror demanded  of  the  Commodore—"  If  he  was  not  in  fear 
of  being  detained  ?"  "  No  !  Sir,"  said  he—"  you  dare  not 
detain  me.  But  if  you  should  presume  to  do  it,  my  squad- 
ron, in  your  full  view,  would  lay  your  batteries,  your  cas 
ties  and  your  city  in  ruins  in  one  hour!  !" 

The  Emperor,  who  had  always  been  accustomed  to  re- 
ceive the  humble  submission  of  subjugated  men,  was 
awe-struck  by  the  presence  and  firmness  of  the  American 
commander. 

He  immediately  gave  orders  to  his  marine  officers  to  re- 
store all  American  vessels  that  had  been  taken,  and  formal- 
ly renewed  the  treaty  made  with  America  in  1 786.  Com. 
Preble  revoked  his  orders  to  capture  Moorish  ships,  and  re- 
stored those  that  had  been  taken.  Happy  had  it  been  for 
the  blood  stained  Jussuff,  the  Bashaw  of  Tripoli,  if  he  had 
followed  the  example  of  Moolay  Solimaan*  the  Emperor 
of  Morocco. 

The  memory  of  Com.  Preble,  ought  to  be  venerated,  and 
the  characters  of  Commodores  Rodgers  and  Bainbridge  du- 
ly estimated,  for  having  first  compelled  the  Emperor  of 
Morocco  to  respect  the  American  Republic.  From  1803 
to  this  time,  Americans  have  suffered  no  obstructions  in 
their  commercial  pursuits  from  the  Moors. 

*  The  writer  of  these  Sketches  is  not  certain  that  this  was  the  name 
of  the  Emperor  of  Morocco  in  1803 ;  but  he  knows  it  to  be  the  name 
of  the  emperor  in  1817,  when  Archibald  Robbins  passed  through  hi? 
dominions  from  Zahara  Desart 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  169 

From  the  decision,  firmness,  and  energy  of  Com.  Preble, 
in  his  transactions  with  the  Emperor  of  Morocco,  his  offi- 
cers and  seamen  were  readily  enabled  to  anticipate  their 
duty  when  they  reached  their  ultimate  destination  before 
Tripoli. 

He  had  declared  Tripoli  to  be  in  a  state  of  blockade, 
and  had  given  formal  notice  of  it  to  all  the  American  Con- 
suls in  the  Mediterranean.  It  was  not  like  the  "  Decrees 
of  Berlin  and  Milan,"  without  power  to  enforce  them — it 
was  a  blockade  with  a  competent  naval  force  to  carry  it 
into  execution. 

The  writer  of  this  sketch,  having  recently  offered  to  the 
public,  the  second  edition  of  the  "  Life  of  Com.  Stephen 
Decatur;"  and  having  in  that  volume  attempted  to  give  a 
succinct  account  of  the  operations  of  Com.  Preble's  squad- 
ron in  the  Mediterranean,  derived  from  sources  of  unques- 
tionable authenticity  ;  and  being  under  the  necessity  of 
connecting  the  actions  of  the  gallant  Commander  in  Chief, 
with  that  of  his  favorite  officer,  Capt.  Decatur,  the  detail  of 
some  events,  of  Com.  Preble's  Life,  while  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean, is  adopted  from  that  volume,  with  such  additions 
and  corrections  as  recent  information  suggested. 

While  Com.  Preble  had  been  thus  engaged,  Captain 
Bainbridge,  in  the  frigate  Philadelphia,  Lieut.  Smith,  with 
the  Vixen  Sloop  of  war,  laid  before  Tripoli,  and,  with  this 
small  force,  completely  blockaded  that  important  port. 

On  the  last  day  of  October,  the  Philadelphia,  lying  about 
fifteen  miles  from  Tripoli,  Captain  Bainbridge  discovered 
a  large  ship,  with  Tripolitan  colours,  under  sail,  between 
him  and  the  shore.  He  immediately  gave  chase  to  her, 
and  continued  the  pursuit  until  the  ship  entered  the  port 
for  safety.     In  beating  out  of  the  harbour  his  noble  frigate 


170  NAVAL  HEROES. 

struck  violently  upon  an  unseen  and  hitherto  undescribed 
rock. 

It  is  wholly  impossible  to  conceive  what  must  have  been 
the  feelings — the  distress — the  agony  of  the  gallant  Bain- 
bridge,  and  his  no  less  gallant  officers  and  crew,  upon  the. 
happening  of  this  dreadful  disaster. 

Capt.  Bainbridge  and  his  crew,  while  the  frigate  floated 
would  have  fought  at  sea,  all  the  Tripolitan  marine,  single 
handed.  But  his  irreversible  fate  was  decided — the  ship 
could  not  then  be  moved,  and  he  was  compelled,  when  an 
overwhelming  Tripolitan  force  assailed  him,  to  strike  the 
banner  of  his  country,  to  the  crescent  of  Mahomet,  and, 
with  his  truly  American  crew,  to  be  reduced  to  the  most 
abject  slavery,  which  the  most  merciless  of  human  beings, 
can  inflict  upon  civilized  man. 

The  whole  crew  exceeded  three  hundred  Americans  ; 
and  they  were  immediately  immured  in  a  dungeon.  In 
this  crew  were  Bainbridge,  Porter,  Jones,  Biddle, — names 
familiar  to  every  American,  who  knows  or  appreciates  the 
glory  of  their  country. 

And  here  I  have  the  infinite  satisfaction  of  recording  an 
instance  of  mutual  attachment,  perhaps  without  a  parallel 
in  the  history  of  the  most  romantic  affection.  Captain 
Bainbridge,  his  officers  and  crew,  now  reduced,  in  a  degree, 
to  equality,  by  common  misery,  pledged  themselves  to  each 
other,  never  to  separate  alive  ;  but  to  endure  one  common 
bondage,  or  enjoy  together,  one  general  emancipation. 
The  friends  of  the  accomplished  Biddle,  offered  the  sum 
demanded  for  his  ransom,  which  he  decidedly  refused  to 
accept. 

This  noble  crew  were  confined  in  a  tower  which  over- 
looked the  bay  of  Tripoli.      They  beheld  their  gallant 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  171 

countrymen,  wafting  triumphantly  in  their  floating  bul- 
warks, and  knew  that  the  day  of  their  redemption  would 
one  day  come.  They  knew  tnat  a  Preble,  and  a  band  of 
unconquerable  warriors  from  the  '  land  of  their  home' 
would  not  forget  them.  They  knew  what  they  had  done, 
in  Morocco,  and  what  they  could  do  in  Tripoli.  They 
nevertheless  could  not  help  thinking  of  their  country, — 
their  friends  ;  and,  what  to  an  ocean-warrior,  perhaps, 
is  dearer  than  all,  the  laurels  they  wished  to  gain  in  chas- 
tising the  diabolical  wretches,  who,  by  an  unavoidable  dis- 
aster, and  not  by  their  courage,  now  held  them  in  degra- 
ded subjugation.* 

*  The  following'  pathetic  lines  are  extracted  from  a  poem  originally 
published  in  the  "  Analectic  Magazine."  Tkey  apply  with  peculiar 
force  to  the  captive  crew  of  the  Philadelphia  frigate  in  a  Tripolitan 
dungeon.     I  should  be  happy  to  give  the  author's  name. 

Blest  country  of  freedom  !  no  longer  my  home ! 
In  my  boyhood  I  lov'd  o'er  your  green  fields  to  roam  ; 
Columbia  !  still  sweet  to  my  ear  is  the  sound, 
Though  now  I'm  a  captive  dishonour'd  and  bound. 

Dear  land  of  my  birth  !  where  my  kindred  all  dwell, 
Couldst  thou  see  thy  lost  son  in  this  comfortless  cell, 
Pale,  starving,  a  slave,  and  with  irons  compress'd, 
Thy  vengeance  would  rise,  and  his  woes  be  redress'd. 
While  millions  thy  bloom-scented  breezes  inhale, 
And  on  thy  rich  harvests  of  plenty  regale  ; 
Here,  far  frem  the  shores  of  abundance  and  health, 
My  wretchedness*  adds  to  a  rude  tyrant's  wealth. 

When  night  o'er  the  world  drops  her  curtains  of  gloom. 
I  am  plung'd  in  the  damps  of  this  horrible  tomb  ; 
Where  nought  can  be  heard  but  the  clanking  of  chains, 
And  moaning  of  slaves  that  give  vent  to  their  pains. 

*  It  is  the  practice  of  Mahometans,  to  aggravate  the  miseries  *f 
Christian  slaves  to  extort  a  higher  ransom. 


172  NAVAL  HEROES. 

But  we  turn  from  a  picture  coloured  in  the  darkest 
shades  of  human  calamity,  to  some  of  the  brightest  orna- 
ments of  the  human  race.  Com.  Preble  despatched  Lt. 
Decatur,  on  the  14th  of  December  from  Malta  with  the 
schooner  Enterprise,  and  he  laid  his  course  for  Tripoli. 
The  Tripolitans  had  seen  this  little  schooner  before,  and 
the  reader  already  knows  what  was  the  result  of  the  inter 
view.i 

On  the  23d,  in  full  view  of  Tripoli,  he  engaged  an  arm- 
ed Tripolitan  vessel ;  and,  in  a  few  minutes,  made  her  his 
own.  She  was  under  Turkish  colours,  and  manned  prin- 
cipally with  Greeks  and  Turks,  and  commanded  by  a  Turk- 
ish Captain.  Under  these  circumstances,  the  Lieutenant 
hesitated  for  some  time,  whether  to  detain  or  release  the 
captured  vessel.  Upon  investigation,  he  found  that  there 
was  on  board  two  very  distinguished  Tripolitan  officers, 
and  that  the  commander  of  her,  in  the  most  dastardly  man- 
ner, had  attacked  the  Philadelphia  frigate,  when  driven  on 
a  rock.  He  farther  learned  from  unquestionable  authori- 
ty, that  on  this  occasion  he  fought  under  false  colours  ;  and 
that  when  the  heroic  but  unfortunate  crew  of  the  Philadel- 
phia, could  no  longer  resist  the  immense  force  brought 
against  her,  he  boarded  her  ;  and  with  the  well  known  fero- 
city of  a  Mahometan,  plundered  the  officers  of  the  captur- 
ed frigate.  Here  the  exalted  character  of  Com.  Preble's 
favorite  officer  Lieut.  Decatur,  began  to  be  developed. 
He  was  then,  as  he  ever  was,  a  lamb  to  his  friends — a  lion 
to  his  enemies.  He  had  before  his  eyes  the  beloved  frig- 
ate, which  had  fallen  a  victim  to  misfortune  and  to  de- 
mons.    But,  adhering  rigidly  to  the  rights  of  war,  he  man- 

*  Alluding  to  the  victory  of  Lieut.  Sterrett. 


COM.    EDWARD  PREBLE. 

tested  no  resentment  against  the  humbled  and  trembling 
wretches  now  in  his  power.  His  great  spirit  scorned  to 
make  war  upon  weakness,  or  triumph  over  a  fallen  foe. 
He  indignantly  disposed  of  the  crew — handed  the  papers  ot 
the  vessel,  to  Com.  Preble,  who  took  her  into  the  service 
of  his  own  country,  and  gave  her  a  name  which  she  after 
wards  so  well  supported,  The  Ketch  Intrepid. 

Notwithstanding  the  loss  of  the  fine  frigate  Philadelphia, 
and  the  bondage  of  her  accomplished  crew,  which  very 
materially  reduced  the  force  of  Com.  Preble's  little  squad- 
ron, that  veteran  officer  was  not  to  be  deterred  from  at 
tempting  to  accomplish  the  great  object  of  his  government, 
in  sending  him  to  the  Mediterranean. 

Fortunately  for  his  own  fame,  and  for  the  lasting  glory 
and  benefit  of  his  beloved  country,  he  united  the  most  cool 
deliberation,  with  the  most  dauntless  courage.  The  first, 
enabled  him  to  prepare  well  for  the  tremendous  contest 
which  lay  before  him.  He  might  have  exclaimed,  in  the 
language  of  an  inimitable,  although  not  a  very  modern 
bard — 

"  The  wide,  the  unbounded  prospect  lies  before  me, 
But  shadows,  clouds,  and  darkness  rest  upon  it." 

The  second  quality  enabled  him,  when  entered  into  the 
dreadful  brunt  of  devastating  warfare,  to  brave  death  in  its 
most  appalling  and  horrid  forms.  In  his  officers  and  sea- 
men, he  recognized  chivalrous  warriors,  who,  amidst  a  host 
of  dangers,  and  the  strides  of  death,  thought  less  of  them- 
selves than  they  did  of  their  country. 

Fortunately,  was  it,  I  may  again  say,  that  there  was  such 
a  man  as  Preble  at  such  a  time,  to  command  such  men. 
He  wanted  nothing  to  stimulate  him  to  the  most  daring  at- 
tempts. 

24 


174  NAVAL  HEROES. 

As  commander  of  the  little  squadron  in  the  Mediterrane- 
an, he  was  in  some  measure  situated  as  Jackson  was. 
when  commanding  his  little  army  at  New  Orleans.  Hi? 
language  to  Mr.  Monroe,  then  secretary  of  war,  was,  "  as 
the  safety  of  this  city  will  depend  upon  the  fate  of  this  army, 
it  must  not  be  incautiously  exposed."  The  gallant  Com- 
modore might  have  said — "  As  the  glory  of  my  country, 
the  safety  of  her  merchants,  and  the  redemption  of  my 
countrymen  depend  upon  my  small  force,  it  must  not  rash- 
ly be  carried  into  a  contest  where  so  many  chances  are 
against  its  success." 

He  selected  the  harbours  of  the  cities  of  Syracuse  and 
Messina  for  his  general  rendezvous  in  the  Mediterranean 
— occasionally  laid  off  the  island  of  Malta,  and  sometimes 
carried  his  squadron  into  the  bay  of  Naples. 

No  portion  of  this  globe  could  afford  the  ardent  hero, 
and  the  classical  scholar  a  more  sublime  subject  for  con- 
templation. Excepting  some  sections  of  the  immense 
American  Republic,  no  part  of  our  world  seems  to  have 
been  created  upon  a  scale  so  wonderfully  grand.  It  i^ 
calculated  to  inspire  the  most  exalted  views  of  the  bound- 
less greatness,  incomprehensible  wisdom,  and  resistless 
power  of  the  Creator. 

Com.  Preble,  his  accomplished  officers,  and  intelligent 
crews,  in  different  ships,  and  in  different  positions,  were  in 
view  of  three  of  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe — Of  Asia. 
whence  issued  the  Law  from  Sinai,  and  Grace  from  Bethle- 
hem, and  where  Mahometans  and  heathen  now  bear  sway. 
Of  Africa,  once  the  seat  of  Egyptian  power  and  science, 
and  now  the  region  of  superstition,  Of  Europe,  the  smallest, 
and  yet  more  powerful  than  all  the  three  other  quarters  of 
the  globe.     They  were  in  view  of  Vesuvius  and  Etna. 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  m 

which,  for  ages  have  spread  desolation  over  the  cities  al 
their  bases.  The  gulph  of  Charybdis,  which  long  swal- 
lowed up  mariners  who  escaped  from  Scylla — the  place 
where  Euphemia  once  was,  and  where  the  hideous  desola 
tion  of  earthquakes  are  yet  visible  throughout  Calabria. 
were  within  his  view. 

In  addition  to  this,  it  has  been  the  theatre  of  the  most 
important  events  recorded  in  ancient  or  modern  history. 
The  minds  of  the  historian,  the  scholar,  the  poet  and  the 
warrior,  seem  to  be  irresistably  hurried  back  to  the  days  of 
antiquity,  and  traces  the  events  and  the  works  which  have 
so  astonishingly  developed  the  moral,  physical,  and  intel- 
lectual faculties  of  man  in  this  region. 

Com.  Preble  had  in  his  squadron  many  scholars  of  the 
lirst  water,  as  they  were  all  heroes  of  the  first  stamp.  The 
region  in  which  they  moved,  and  the  object  they  had  to  ac- 
complish, were  both  calculated  to  stimulate  them  to  that 
pitch  of  unparalleled  enthusiasm  which  led  thein  to  the 
achievement  of  such  unparalleled  deeds. 

The  renowned  city  of  Syracuse  is  situated  upon  the  isl- 
and of  Sicily.  The  historian  will  readily  recollect  its  for- 
mer grandeur  and  importance  ;  but  the  writer  has  enjoyed 
the  desirable  satisfaction  of  learning  its  present  state  from 
some  of  the  accomplished  officers  of  Com.  Preble's  squad- 
ron, and  other  American  gentlemen  who  have  recently  ex- 
plored the  island  of  Sicily,  and  who  have  resided  in  the 
city  of  Syracuse. 

This  island  was  once  the  region  of  fertility  ;  and  whil^ 
ihe  Roman  legions  were  striding  on  from  conquest  to  con- 
quest, over  what  was  then  called  "  the  whole  world,"  this 
island  was  literally  their  granary. 

The  climate  is  altogether  the  finest  that  can  be  imagined. 


176  .NAVAL  HEROES. 

The  soil  produces  not  only  all  the  necessaries  but  all  the 
luxuries  of  life.  The  ancient  Syracusans  carried  their 
city  to  a  pitch  of  grandeur,  second  only  to  tlfat  of  Rome. 

It  can  hardly  be  believed  in  the  nineteenth  century,  that 
this  single  city  in  ancient  days,  furnished  one  hundred 
thousand  foot  soldiers,  and  ten  thousand  horsemen,  but 
such  was  the  fact.  And,  when  it  is  mentioned  that  her  na- 
vy amounted  to  four  hundred  vessels,  the  assertion  would 
almost  seem  to  be  incredible  ;  but  it  is  no  less  true. 

At  that  period  of  their  history,  the  Syracusans  flourished 
by  war — they  afterwards  became  degenerated  by  peace. 

Rome  conquered  Greece  by  arms,  and  was  herself  con- 
quered by  the  refinements  of  Greece.  It  was  easy  for  the 
clans  which  composed  what  is  generally  called  the  "  North- 
ern Hive"  in  the  fifth  century  of  the  Christian  era,  to  con- 
quer them  both.  They  only  had  to  conquer  a  people  by 
arms,  who  had  conquered  themselves  by  effeminacy. 

The  Saxons,  from  whom  Englishmen  and  Americans 
principally  derive  their  origin,  were  in  that  myriad  who 
precipitated  themselves  upon  the  ancient  nations  of  Europe, 
and  established  those  which  now  so  completely  eclipse 
their  former  splendour.  The  Gauls,  Franks,  and  other 
clans  followed  in  their  train,  and  European  nations  are  now, 
what  the  Grecians,  Carthagenians,  Romans  and  other  an- 
cient nations  were  about  the  commencement  of  the  Chris- 
tian era ;  and  London,  Paris,  and  other  cities,  are  what 
Rome,  Syracuse  and  other  cities  were  then. 

While  at  anchor  in  the  harbour  of  Syracuse  and  other 
places,  Com.  Preble  and  his  brother  officers  frequently 
went  on  shore  and  explored  these  places  of  ancient  wealth, 
refinement  and  grandeur. 

Syracuse   is  twenty-two   miles  in  circumference  :    al- 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  177 

though  its  limits  could  then  be  discovered  only  f>\  the 
mouldering  ruins  of  its  ancient  boundaries. 

Although  the  natural  charms  of  the  country  remain  the 
same  as  they  were  when  the  fiat  of  creative  power  brought 
the  universe  into  existence,  yet  the  miserable,  degenerated, 
and  vitiated  descendants  of  the  ancient  Syracusans,  had  so 
scandalously  degraded  the  noble  and  glorious  ancestors 
from  whom  they  descended,  that  the  officers  of  Commo- 
dore Preble's  squadron  saw  nothing  in  them  to  excite 
their  respect — much  less  their  admiration. 

But  Com.  Preble  was  not  designated  by  the  American 
government  to  conduct  a  squadron  into  the  Mediterranean 
for  the  purpose  of  visiting  the  tombs  of  Archimedes,  Theo- 
critus, Petrarch,  and  Virgil,  in  the  adjoining  regions  of  that 
sea,  and  then  to  return  home  and  amuse  his  countrymen 
with  the  present  state  of  the  "  classic  ground"  which  their 
splendid  geniuses  have  rendered  sacred. 

His  business  was  to  conquer  a  barbarous  foe  bordering 
upon  another  portion  of  the  Mediterranean  who  never  had 
any  more  pretentions  to  the  productions  of  genius,  than  they 
have  to  the  exercise  of  humanity. 

He  perfectly  well  understood  the  ancient  character  of 
the  Syracusans,  and  from  occular  demonstration  had  plena- 
ry evidence  of  their  modern  degeneracy. 

As  the  squadron  rendezvoused  there  to  obtain  water  and 
fresh  provisions,  the  officers  and  seamen  had  occasion  fre- 
quently to  be  on  shore  within  the  city  by  night  and  by  day. 

Although  the  American  Republic  was  at  perfect  peace 
with  the  Neapolitan  government,  yet  there  was  no  individ- 
ual safety  when  intercourse  became  necessary  with  its  vin- 
dictive and  sanguinary  subjects. 

From  many  interesting  narrations  of  many  of  the  accom- 


178  NAVAL  HEROEb. 

plished  officers  of  Com.  Preble's  squadron,  the  fact  ma) 
be  asserted,  that  the  Syracusans,  who  were  amongst  the 
most  noble  of  the  ancients,  are  amongst  the  most  degraded 
of  the  moderns.  Their  sordid  and  mercenary  rulers  exer- 
cise a  boundless,  undefined,  and  unrestrained  power,  over 
the  miserable  and  degraded  people.  They,  in  hopeless 
despondence,  prey  upon  each  other ,  and  like  Macbeth, 
having  long  waded  in  blood,  may  as  well  advance  as  to  re- 
cede :  and,  as  if  blood  was  their  aliment,  they  make  a  bu- 
siness of  assassination. 

Armed  with  concealed  daggers,  stilettoes,  and  knives, 
our  unsuspecting  officers  and  seamen  were  assailed  when 
the  earth  was  shrouded  in  darkness,  and  sometimes  esca- 
ped with  their  lives  by  putting  their  assailants  to  death. 

This  is  no  place  for  grave  and  prolix  reflections — they 
belong  to  the  writers  of  ethics,  and  not  to  the  biographer ; 
but  it  is  utterly  impossible  to  avoid  the  inquiry,  how  the 
human  heart  can  become  so  completely  divested  of  the 
feelings  of  humanity,  and  be  metamorphosed  into  those  of 
beasts  of  prey  ?  and  how  those  portions  of  the  world  where 
the  arts  and  sciences  not  only  once  flourished,  but  may  be 
said  almost  to  have  originated,  should  now  be  reduced  to  a 
state  far  worse  than  that  which  is  naturally  savage  ? 

Many  portions  of  Asia,  Europe,  and  Africa,  bordering 
upon  the  renowned  Mediterranean  sea,  are  now  inhabited 
by  races  of  men  far  less  magnanimous,  and  little  less  fero- 
cious, than  the  aborigines  who  roam  through  the  boundless 
wildernesses  of  America,  where  science  never  diffused  its 
lights,  and  where  civilization  never  imparted  its  refined 
blessings. 

While  at  Syracuse,  Com.  Preble  was  incessantly  em- 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  179 

ployed  in  preparing  his  crews  for  the  unequal,  the  daring, 
and  desperate  contest  into  which  he  was  shortly  to  enter. 

His  arduous  and  impatient  soul  panted  for  an  opportuni 
iy  to  avenge  the  injuries  of  his  country,  and  above  all  to 
relieve  his  countrymen  from  the  dreadful  state  of  wretch- 
edness to  which  they  were  reduced  by  their  slavery,  under 
Jussuff,  at  that  time  reigning  Bashaw  of  Tripoli), 

It  will  not,  I  trust,  be  deemed  a  digression — indeed,  upon 
second  thought,  it  is  no  digression  at  all,  to  make  a  brief 
allusion  to  the  blood-thirsty  demon,  who  sat  upon  the 
blood-stained  throne  of  Tripoli,  while  Preble  and  his  asso- 
ciates were  pouring  out  the  vindictive  wrath  of  an  injured 
and  indignant  Republic  upon  his  no  less  blood-thirsty  sub 
jects. 

Jussuff  was  to  the  reigning  family  of  Tripoli,  what  Rich- 
ard III.  once  was  to  the  reigning  family  of  England.  He 
was  a  remote  heir  to  the  throne  of  the  Bashaw,  filled  by 
his  father.  The  certain  progress  of  the  king  of  terrors,  or 
the  sanguinary  hand  of  some  other  assassin,  might  have 
placed  him  upon  the  throne  according  to  the  laws  of  suc- 
cession, (if  they  have  any  in  Tripoli)  without  ascending  it 
with  his  hands  reeking  in  the  blood  of  his  father  and  his 
eldest  brother.  Both  of  these  he  had  murdered  ;  and  his 
next  eldest  brother,  Hamet  Caramalli,  apprehending  the 
same  fate,  sought  a  refuge  from  unnatural  death  by  fleeing 
into  Egypt. 

Having  no  other  rival,  this  modern  Cain  mounted  the 
throne  of  his  father  and  his  brother  ;  and,  as  he  had  acqui- 
red it  by  violating  the  laws  of  God,  of  nature,  and  of  man. 
he  endeavoured  to  support  himself  upon  it  by  re-acting  the 
same  tragical  scenes  which  carried  him  to  it.  The  "  com- 
punctious visitings"  of  conscience  ;  the  monitor  in  the  hu- 


180  JNAVAL  HEROES. 

man  breast,  excited  no  horrors  in  his  callous  and  reprobate 
heart. 

A  gleam  of  horrid  triumph  seemed  to  shed  a  baleful  and 
blasting  illumination  over  his  blackened  and  bloody  soul. 
He  "  grinned  horribly  a  ghastly  smile"  at  the  fate  of  his 
innocent  and  exiled  brother ;  and  gnashed  his  teeth  at  the 
gallant  Bainbridge,  his  incarcerated  crew,  and  the  rest  of 
the  American  prisoners,  then  in  his  dungeons. 

It  was  in  vain  for  Mr.  Lear,  then  American  consul,  by 
all  the  melting  and  impassioned  appeals  he  could  make  to 
the  obdurate  heart  of  this  demon  incarnate,  to  obtain  the 
least  mitigation  of  the  indescribably  wretched  bondage  to 
which  his  beloved  countrymen  were  reduced.  As  well 
might  the  lamb  bleat  for  mercy  in  the  paw  of  a  tiger,  or 
the  child  attempt  to  demolish  the  bashaw's  castle  with  his 
wind-gun. 

Mr.  Lear  was  compelled  to  be  an  agonized  spectator  of 
the  accumulated  and  accumulating  miseries  of  gallant 
Americans,  who  had  left  the  regions  of  happiness — the 
arms  of  fathers,  mothers,  brothers,  and  sisters — of  wives 
and  children,  to  redeem,  by  their  courage,  their  own  coun- 
trymen, who  had  previously  been  enslaved. 

The  powerful  arms  of  Bainbridge  and  his  crew,  which, 
at  liberty,  would  have  scattered  death  amongst  a  host  of 
Turks,  were  pinioned  aud  lashed  together,  they  driven  to 
the  shore ;  and,  in  taunting  derision,  commanded  to  cast 
their  swimming  eyes  upon  their  shipmates,  then  wafting  in 
the  bay  of  Tripoli ;  and  to  heave  forth  the  sighs  of  hearts 
already  bursting  for  the  land  of  their  homes. 

But  I  must  retract — not  a  tear  was  dropped  ;  not  a  sigh 
was  heard  ;  for  revenge  had  closed  the  flood-gates  of  grief ; 
and  American  hearts,  beating  in  bosoms  truly  American. 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  181 

panted  for  nothing  but  vengeance  upon  their  demoniacal 
oppressors. 

The  bashaw,  who  might  well  be  compared  to  the  toad 
which  wished  to  swell  to  the  size  of  the  ox,  reposed  in  fan- 
cied security.  He  cast  a  malignant  glance  at  the  little 
squadron  in  which  Preble  was  the  commander.  He 
law  in  the  bay,  spreading  before  the  city,  his  batteries,  and 
his  castles,  a  noble  American  frigate,  (the  Philadelphia,) 
once  the  pride  of  the  American  navy — upon  which  the 
*  Star-spangled  banner"  once  triumphantly  waved,  now 
added  to  his  naval  force — manned  by  a  double  crew  of 
Tripolitans ;  and,  with  the  Turkish  crescent  waving  on  its 
mast.  He  saw  its  once  gallant  crew,  miserable  slaves  in 
his  own  gloomy  dungeons ;  and,  in  anticipation,  feasted 
his  cannibal  appetite  upon  all  the  victims  which  the  Ame- 
rican squadron  could  add  to  his  list  of  Christian  slaves. 

Com.  Preble's  fearless  and  noble  soul,  was  not  only 
aroused  to  the  highest  pitch  of  enthusiastic  courage,  but  it 
was  absolutely  inflamed  with  desperation  to  behold  his  for- 
mer companions  in  the  navy,  thus  degraded — thus  humilia- 
ted— thus  subjugated.  But,  like  a  lion,  growling  at  a  dis- 
tance, and  indicating  to  his  foe  their  future  fate,  he  was  re- 
strained, from  rushing  too  precipitately  upon  the  barbarous 
enemy,  he  wished  instantly  to  encounter. 

All  personal  considerations,  were  completely  merged  and 
lost,  in  the  agony  he  felt  for  his  brother  officers  and  seamen 
in  slavery.  He  had  taken  his  life  in  his  hand,  and  seemed 
anxious  to  offer  it  up,  if  so  decreed  by  the  God  of  battles, 
for  the  redemption  of  his  endeared  countrymen.  But  the 
cool  and  yet  cautious  Preble,  knew  full  well  that  the  means 
in  his  hands,  must  be  directed  with  the  utmost  caution,  to 
accomplish  the  end  he  had  in  view. 


132  NAVAL  HEROES. 

To  recapture  the  Philadelphia,  was  absolutely  impracti- 
cable, as  the  writer  has  been  assured  by  some  of  the  expe- 
rienced and  accomplished  officers  of  Commodore  Preble's 
squadron.  She  was  moored  under  the  guns  of  the  Bashaw's 
castle,  and  his  extensive  and  powerful  batteiies,  and  was 
herself,  in  her  present  hands,  completely  prepared  to  join 
them  in  repelling  any  assailants  that  should  approach  her. 
There  were  these  alternatives — she  must  either  be  destroy- 
ed— constantly  blockaded — or  suffered  to  escape,  and  com- 
mit depredations  upon  the  commerce,  and  outrage  upon 
the  citizens  of  the  country  who  built,  equipped,  and  man- 
ned her. 

Lieut.  Stephen  Decatur,  with  the  most  impassioned  and 
fervent  appeals  to  the  Commodore,  entreated  him  to  per- 
mit an  attempt  to  destroy  her,  as  she  lay  at  her  moorings. 
It  was  an  attempt  so  pregnant  with  danger,  and  approach- 
ing so  near  to  certain  destruction,  that  the  heroic,  though 
cautious  Preble,  hesitated  in  granting  the  request.  The 
imminent  hazard  of  the  enterprise  was  pointed  out  in  such 
a  manner  as  was  calculated  to  allay  the  ardour  of  the  most 
romantic  heroism.  But  Decatur,  rising  above  the  ordina- 
ry calculations  of  chances — retiring  into  his  own  bosom, 
and  forming  his  judgment  from  his  own  exalted  gallantry, 
took  no  counsel  from  fear,  but  volunteered  his  services  to 
his  Superior  officer,  to  command  the  desperate  expedition. 
At  length, 

"  He  wrung  from  him  his  slow  leave" — 

and  immediately  commenced  his  preparations  for  the  aw- 
ful undertaking.  The  ardour  of  the  Lieutenant  was  in- 
creased as  the  danger  of  the  attempt  was  magnified.  At 
this  early  period  of  his  life,  he  seemed  to  have  revived  the 
spirit  which  pervaded  the  hearts  of  men  in  the   "  age  of 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  .  183 

chivalry,"  and  to  have  adopted  the  ancient  axiom  "  the 
greater  the  danger  the  greater  the  glory."  But  let1  it  he 
remembered  that  Decatur  sought  for  glory,  only  by  the 
discharge  of  duty. 

Uniting  the  most  consummate  sagacity  with  the  most 
daring  courage,  he  selected  the  little  ketch  Intrepid,  which, 
as  previously  mentioned  he  had  himself  captured,  in  full 
view  of  the  bay  where  the  Philadelphia  was  moored.  He 
was  aware  that  if  the  expedition  should  prove  successful, 
it  would  render  the  mortification  of  the  insolent  Bashaw 
doubly  severe,  to  see  a  little  vessel  which  lately  belonged 
to  his  own  marine  force,  boldly  approach  to  the  guns  of 
his  battery  and  castle,  and  destroy  the  largest  ship  that  be- 
longed to  his  navy.  A  ship,  too,  which  he  neither  built 
nor  honourably  captured,  but  which  became  his  by  the  ir- 
resistible laws  of  the  elements. 

No  sooner  was  it  known  that  this  expedition  was  to  be 
undertaken,  than  the  crew  of  Lieutenant  Decatur  volun- 
teered their  services — ever  ready  to  follow  their  beloved 
commander  to  victory  or  to  death.  Other  seamen  follow- 
ed their  example.  Nor  was  this  the  most  conclusive  evi- 
dence of  the  unbounded  confidence  placed  in  his  skill  and 
courage.  Lieut.  Charles  Stewart,  also  volunteered  un- 
der Decatur ;  and  for  the  expedition  took  the  brig  Syren 
and  a  few  boats ;  and,  to  show  still  farther  the  high  estima- 
tion in  which  he  was  holden — Lieut.  James  Lawrence, 
and  Charles  Morris,  and  Thomas  Macdonouuh,  then 
midshipmen,  entered  on  board  the  Intrepid  with  Decatur. 
What  a  constellation  of  rising  ocean  heroes  were  here  as- 
sociated !  They  were  then  all  young  officers,  almost  un- 
known to  fame.  Now  their  names  are  all  identified  with 
the  naval  glory  of  the  American  Republic. 


184  NAVAL  HEROES. 

As  soon  as  the  crews  of  the  ketch  Intrepid  and  the  brig 
Syren  were  made  up,  the  utmost  despatch  was  used  in 
preparing  them  for  the  expedition.  The  Ketch  was  fitted 
out  as  a  fire  ship,  in  case  it  should  be  necessary  to  use  her 
as  such.  The  Brig,  with  the  boats  accompanying  her, 
were  to  aid  as  circumstances  rendered  it  necessary,  and  to 
receive  the  crew  of  the  Ketch  if  she  was  driven  to  the  ne- 
cessity of  being  blown  up. 

Upon  the  3d  day  of  February,  Decatur  weighed  anchor 
in  the  little  Intrepid,  accompanied  by  Lieutenant  Stewart 
in  the  Syren,  who  was  also  accompanied  by  the  boats.  A 
favourable  wind  would  have  wafted  them  to  their  destined 
port  in  less  than  five  days  ;  but  for  fifteen  days,  they  en- 
countered the  most  boisterous  and  tempestuous  weather. 
Instead  of  encountering  a  barbarous  enemy,  they  were 
buffeting  the  waves  and  struggling  for  life  with  a  tumultu- 
ous and  agitated  sea.  Nothing  could  be  better  calculated 
to  repress  the  ardour  of  Decatur  and  his  little  band.  His 
provisions  were  diminished  and  almost  expended,  and  al- 
though not  a  murmur  escaped  the  lips  of  the  humblest  sea- 
man, it  may  well  be  imagined  what  must  be  their  reflec- 
tions, when  liable  every  hour  to  be  swallowed  up  by  the 
waves  ;  and,  if  they  escaped  them  to  be  famished  with 
hunger !  Men  of  the  stoutest  hearts,  who  would  undaunt- 
edly rush  to  the  cannon's  mouth,  become  even  children  at 
the  prospect  of  famine. 

At  length  upon  the  memorable  16th  of  February,  1804, 
a  little  before  sunset,  Decatur  hove  in  sight  of  the  bay  of 
Tripoli,  and  of  the  frigate  Philadelphia,  with  the  Turkish 
Crescent  proudly  waving  at  her  head.  The  apprehensions 
arising  from  storms  and  famine  were  suddenly  banished  by 
the  prospect  of  a  glorious  victory  or  a  glorious  death. 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE,  196 

It  had  previously  been  arranged  between  Decatur,  and 
Lieutenant  Stewart,  that  the  Intrepid,  accompanied  by  the 
boats  which  had  been  attached  to  the  Syren,  should  enter 
the  harbour  at  10  o'clock  at  night,  with  the  utmost  possible 
silence,  bear  down  upon  the  Philadelphia,  and  take  her  by 
boarding.  But,  as  if  fate  haa  entered  its  veto  agamst  the 
success  of  the  expedition,  the  Syren,  with  all  the  boats,  by 
a  change  of  wind,  were  driven  from  five  to  ten  miles  from 
the  Intrepid,  leaving  Decatur,  with  only  seventy  volun- 
teers in  this  small  Ketch. 

The  moment  of  decision  had  come.  His  provisions 
were  nearly  expended,  and  the  expedition  must  have  been 
relinquished  for  that  season,  unless  the  object  of  it  was  now 
accomplished. 

He  knew  that  her  gallant  little  crew  were  as  true  to  him, 
as  the  needle  by  which  he  directed  his  ketch  to  Tripoli. 
was  to  the  pole.  Wherever  he  would  lead,  he  knew  they 
would  follow.  Having  a  Maltese  pilot  on  board  the  Ketch, 
he  ordered  him  to  answer  the  hail  from  the  frigate,  in  the 
Tripolitan  tongue  ;  and,  if  they  were  ordered  to  come  to 
an  anchor,  to  answer,  that  they  had  lost  their  anchors  upon 
the  coast  in  a  gale  of  wind,  and  that  a  compliance  with  the 
order  was  impossible. 

He  addressed  his  gallant  officers  and  men  in  the  most: 
animated  and  impassioned  style — pointed  out  to  them  the 
glory  of  the  achievements  which  would  redound  to  them- 
selves, and  the  lasting  benefit  it  would  secure  to  their 
country, — that  it  would  hasten  the  redemption  of  their 
brother  seamen,  from  horrible  bondage,  and  give  to  the 
name  of  Americans,  an  exalted  rank  even  amongst  Mahom- 
etans. Every  heart  on  board  swelled  with  enthusiasm, 
and  responded  to  the  patriotic  sentiments  of  their  beloved 


186  JNAVAL  HEROES. 

leader  in  this  expedition,  by  wishing  to  be  led  immediately 
into  the  contest.  Every  man  was  completely  armed — not 
only  with  the  most  deadly  weapons,  but  with  the  most 
dauntless  courage. 

The  reader  may  form  some  faint  conceptions  of  the  tre- 
mendous hazard  of  this  engagement  by  learning  that  the 
Philadelphia  was  moored  nearthe  Bashaw's  extensive  and 
powerful  batteries,  and  equally  near  to  what  he  deemed 
his  impregnable  castle.  One  of  her  full  broadsides,  of 
twenty  six  guns,  pointed  directly  into  the  harbour,  and 
were  all  mounted  and  loaded  with  double  headed  shot. 
Two  of  the  Tripolitan's  largest  corsairs  were  anchored 
within  two  cables'  length  of  her  starboard  quarter,  while  a 
great  number  of  heavy  gun-boats  were  stationed  about  the 
same  distance  from  her  starboard  bow. 

As  the  Bashaw  had  reasons  daily  to  expect  an  attack 
from  Com.  Preble's  squadron,  the  Tripolitan  commander 
of  the  Philadelphia,  had  augmented  her  crew  to  nearly  a 
thousand  Turks.  In  addition  to  all  these  formidable, — 
yea,  appalling  considerations,  Decatur  and  his  noble  crew, 
knew  full  well  that  after  having  entered  into  this  dreadful- 
ly unequal  combat,  there  was  no  escape.  It  was  a  "  for- 
lorn hope" — it  was  victory,  slavery,  or  death — death  per- 
haps by  the  hands  of  the  Turks — perhaps  by  the  explosion 
of  the  Intrepid. 

As  soon  as  darkness  had  concealed  the  Ketch  from  the 
view  of  the  Tripolitans,  Decatur  bore  slowly  into  the  har- 
bour, and  approached  the  numerous  magazines  of  death 
which  were  prepared  to  repel  or  destroy  any  assailant  that 
should  approach. 

The  light  breeze  he  had  when  he  entered  the  harbour, 
died  away,  and  a  dead  calm  succeeded.     At  1 1  o'clock  he 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  187 

hud  approached  within  two  hundred  yards  of  the  Philadel- 
phia. An  unbroken  silence  for  the  three  preceding  hours 
had  prevailed;  reminding  the  poetical  reader  of  the  ex- 
pressive couplet — 

"  A  fearful  silence  now  invades  the  ear, 
And  in  that  silence  all  a  tempest  fear." 

At  this  portentous  moment,  the  hoarse  and  dissonant 
voice  of  a  Turk  hailed  the  Intrepid,  and  ordered  her  to 
come  tc  anchor.  The  faithful  Maltese  pilot  answered  as 
previously  directed,  and  the  sentinel  supposed  ','  all  was 
well."  The  Ketch  gradually  approached  the  frigate  ;  and 
when  within  about  fifty  yards  of  her,  Decatur  ordered  the 
Intrepid's  small  boat  to  take  a  rope  and  make  it  fast  to  the 
fore  chains  of  the  frigate,  and  the  men  to  return  immedi- 
ately on  board  the  Ketch.  This  done,  some  of  the  crew 
with  the  rope  began  to  warp  the  Ketch  along-side  the  Phi- 
ladelphia. 

The  imperious  Turks  at  this  time  began  to  imagine  that 
"  all  was  not  well."  The  Ketch  was  suddenly  brought  into 
contact  with  the  frigate — Decatur,  full  armed,  darted  like 
lightning  upon  her  deck,  and  was  immediately  follow- 
ed by  midshipman  Morris.  For  a  full  minute,  they  were 
the  only  Americans  on  board,  contending  with  hundred?  of 
Turks.  Lieutenant  Lawrence*  and  midshipman  Macdon- 
ough,  as  soon  as  possible  followed  their  leader,  and  were 
themselves  followed  by  the  whole  of  the  little  crew  of  the 
Intrepid. 

A  scene  followed  which  beggars  description.  The  con- 
sternation of  the  Turks  increased  the  wild  confusion  which 
the  unexpected  assault  occasioned.     They  rushed   upon 

*  Lawrence  at  this  time  was  a  midshipman ;  but  was  acting  lieuten- 
ant in  the  schooner  Enterprise. 


188  NAVAL  HEROES. 

deck  from  every  other  part  of  the  frigate  ;  and,  instead  of 
aiding,  obstructed  each  other  in  defending  her.  Decatur 
and  his  crew  formed  a  front  equal  to  that  of  the  Turks,  and 
then  impetuously  rushed  upon  them.  It  was  the  business 
of  the  Americans  to  slay,  and  of  the  Turks  to  die.  It  was 
impossible  to  ascertain  the  number  slain  ;  but  it  was  esti- 
mated at  from  twenty  to  thirty.  As  soon  a6  any  Turk  was 
wounded,  he  immediately  jumped  overboard  ;  choosing  a 
voluntary  death,  rather  than  the  disgrace  of  "losing  blood 
by  the  hand  of  a  "  christian  dog."  Those  who  were  not 
slain,  or  who  had  leaped  overboard,  excepting  one,  escap- 
ed in  a  boat  to  the  shore. 

Decatur  now  found  himself  in  complete  possession  of 
the  Philadelphia,  and  commanded  upon  the  same  deck 
where  his  gallant  father  had  commanded  before  him.  But 
in  life,  he  was  in  the  midst  of  death.  He  could  not  move 
the  frigate,  for  there  was  no  wind — he  could  not  tow  her 
out  of  the  harbour,  for  he  had  not  sufficient  strength.  The 
Bashaw's  troops  commenced  a  tremendous  fire  from  their 
batteries  and  the  castle  upon  the  frigate.  The  gun- boats 
were  arranged  in  the  harbour;  and  the  two  corsairs  near 
her  were  pouring  their  fire  into  her  starboard  quarter.  De- 
catur and  his  gallant  companions  remained  in  the  frigate, 
cool  and  collected,  fully  convinced  that  that  was  the  only 
place  where  they  could  defend  themselves. 

Finding  it  totally  impossible  to  withstand,  for  any  length 
of  time  such  a  tremendous  cannonade  as  was  now  pouring 
in  upon  him,  he  resolved  to  set  the  frigate  on  fire  in  every 
one  of  her  combustible  parts,  and  run  the  hazard  of  esca- 
ping, with  his  officers  and  seamen,  in  the  little  Intrepid, 
which  still  lay  along  side  of  her.  It  was  a  moment,  preg- 
nant with  the  most  awful,  or  the  most  happy  consequences 
to  these  gallant  heroes. 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  IfiS 

After  the  conflagration  commenced,  Decatur  and  his  as- 
sociates entered  the  ketch  as  it  increased  ;  and  for  some 
time  were  in  imminent  danger  of  being  blown  up  with  her. 
As  if  Heaven  smiled  upon  the  conclusion  of  this  enter- 
prise, as  it  seemed  to  frown  upon  its  beginning,  a  favourable 
breeze  at  this  moment  arose,  which  blew  the  Intrepid  di- 
rectly out  of  the  reach  of  the  enemy's  cannon,  and  enabled 
Decatur  and  his  officers  and  seamen  to  behold,  at  a  secure 
distance,  the  furious  flames  and  rolling  columns  of  smoke 
which  issued  from  the  Philadelphia. 

As  the  flames  heated  the  loaded  cannon  in  the  frigate, 
they  were  discharged,  one  after  the  other — those  pointing 
into  the  harbour  without  injury ;  and  those  pointing  into 
the  city  of  Tripoli  to  the  great  damage  and  consternation 
of  the  barbarous  wretches  who  had  loaded  them  to  destroy 
our  countrymen.  One  of  the  shot  entered  the  dungeon 
where  Capt.  Bainbridge  and  his  crew  were  confined  ! 

It  is  wholly  impossible  for  those  unaccustomed  to  scenes 
like  this,  to  form  a  conception  of  the  feelings  of  Decatur 
and  his  comrades  upon  this  occasion.  Their  safe  retreat 
was  next  to  a  resurrection  from  the  dead.  Not  an  Ameri- 
can was  slain  in  the  desperate  rencontre,  and  but  four  were 
wounded. 

Com.  Preble  might  well  have  exclaimed  to  Lieut.  Deca- 
tur upon  joining  his  squadron,  as  an  ancient  Baron  did  to 
his  favourite  knight — 

"  Welcome  to  my  arms  ;  thou  art  twice  a  conqueror, 
"  For  thou  bringest  home  full  numbers." 

Equally  impossible  is  it  to  imagine  the  feelings  of  Captain 
Bainbridge  and  his  companions  in  bondage  upon  this  al- 
most miraculous  event.      They  heard  the  roar  of  cannon 
26 


190  NAVAL  HEROES. 

in  their  gloomy  dungeon,  and  saw  the  gleaming  light  of  the 
flames,  but  knew  not  the  cause.  Upon  learning  the  cheer- 
ing tidings,  joy  converted  their  chains  and  cords  to  silken 
threads.  It  was  a  presage  of  there  deliverance,  and  fore- 
told to  them  a  glorious  jubilee.  They  might  have  said  of 
the  Commodore,  "  Better  is  a  friend  that  is  nigh,  than  a 
brother  that  is  far  off." 

Com.  Preble,  fully  sensible  of  the  deficiency  of  his  squad- 
ron in  vessels  of  a  smaller  class,  negotiated  with  the  king 
of  Naples  for  the  loan  of  two  bombards,  and  six  gun-boats. 
Nelson,  when  commanding  immense  squadrons  of  ships  of 
the  line  declared  that  "  Frigates  were  the  eyes  of  a  fleet ;" 
and  gun-boats  were  to  Preble,  what  frigates  were  to  him. 

This  great  man.  and  veteran  officer  had  the  scantiest 
means  to  accomplish  a  most  important  end.  But  as  the 
gallant  Henry  V.  with  his  little  army  before  Agincourt 
"  wished  not  for  another  man  from  England,"  so  Preble 
wished  not  for  another  keel,  another  gun,  or  another  maa 
from  America.  His  noble  soul  converted  his  little  squad- 
ron into  a  powerful  fleet;  and,  surrounded  by'such  officers  as 
Decatur,  Hull,  Stewart,  Smith,  Somers  and  others,  then 
less  known,  and  perhaps  equally  gallant,  his  comrades  were 
magnified  into  a  mighty  host. 

While  Com.  Preble  was  thus  preparing  to  negotiate  with 
the  tyrannous  and  murderous  Jussuff  at  the  mouth  of  his 
cannon,  and  to  send  his  ultimatum  in  powder  and  ball,  Mr. 
William  Eaton,  who  had  previously  been  a  consul  from 
America  up  the  Mediterranean,  conceived  the  daring  and 
romantic  project  of  restoring  Hamet  Caramalli  to  the  throne 
of  Tripoli  which  had  been  usurped  by  the  reigning  Bashaw. 

Hamet  had  relinguished  all  hopes  of  regaining  a  throne 
which  had  always  been  acquired  and  sustained  by  blood  and 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  191 

assassination.  Like  a  philosopher,  he  had  retired  to  Egypt, 
where  the  beys  of  that  ancient  kingdom  extended  to  him 
their  protection  aad  their  hospitality.  To  use  his  own 
language,  as  translated  into  ours  he  "  reposed  in  the  secu- 
rity of  peace — had  almost  ceased  to  repine  for  the  loss  of 
his  throne,  and  regretted  only  the  lot  of  his  unhappy  peo- 
ple, doomed  to  the  yoke  of  his  cruel  and  tyrannical  brother." 

Novel  language  this,  to  be  sure  in  the  mouth  of  a  Ma- 
hometan !  How  much  his  "  unhappy  people"  would 
have  been  benefited  by  his  reign,  cannot  now  be  deter- 
mined ;  as  he  is  not  amongst  the  "  legitimate  sovereigns" 
who  have,  in  later  times,  waded  through  the  blood  of  their 
own  subjects  to  thrones  from  which  they  were  driven  by 
the  public  voice.  Thrones  which  tremble  beneath  them, 
and  which  they  maintain  only  by  the  strong  arm  of  power. 

Some  few  Americans  from  the  American  squadron,  join- 
ed Eaton,  and,  many  natives  of  various  tribes,  languages 
and  colours  flocked  to  his  standard.  A  motley  sort  of  an 
army  was  thus  formed,  and  Eaton  placed  himself  at  their 
head  as  a  general.  He  repaired  to  Alexandria,  and  found 
the  feeble  Caramalli,  as  just  mentioned  "reposing  in  secu- 
rity and  peace." 

Fortunate  indeed  had  it  been  for  him,  if  he  had  remain- 
ed in  safety  by  continuing  in  obscurity.  Few  instances  are 
left  us  upon  record  of  princes  who  have  been  exiled  from 
their  thrones  and  kingdoms,  who  have  enjoyed  either  of 
them  upon  their  restoration.  The  houses  of  Stuart,  Bour- 
bon, and  Braganzi  furnish  the  commentary. 

The  expiring  hopes  of  Caramalli,  were  brightened  up  by 
the  ardent  and  romantic  Eaton,  as  a  sudden  gust  elicits  a 
spark  from  the  faint  glimmering  light  in  the  socket.  He 
cast  a  longing  eye  towards  the  dangerous  throne  of  Tripoli. 


192  NAVAL  HEROES. 

more  than  half  a  thousand  miles  distant,  between  which  and 
himself  stretched  an  immense  desart  second  only  in  bar- 
renness and  desolation  to  that  of  Zahara. 

But  nothing  could  repress  the  ardour  of  Eaton.  The 
idea  of  an  American,  taking  from  the  land  where  Pharaoh 
once  held  the  children  of  Israel  in  captivity,  an  exiled 
prince,  and  placing  him  upon  the  throne  of  a  distant  king- 
dom, had  something  in  it  so  outrageously  captivating,  that 
the  enthusiastic  mind  of  the  chivalrous  Eaton  was  lost  to 
every  other  consideration. 

The  grateful  Caramalli.if  an  Ishmaelite  can  be  grateful, 
took  leave  of  his  Egyptian  friends,  and  placed  himself  un- 
der the  banner  of  Eaton.  He  entered  into  a  Convention 
with  the  general,  by  which  he  promised  immense  favours 
to  the  Americans,  and  to  make  the  engagements  reciprocal, 
the  general  promised  to  restore  him  to  his  throne.  This 
diplomatic  arrangement  was  doubtless  mutually  satisfacto- 
ry to  the  parties,  although  the  American  and  Tripolitan 
governments  had  no  hand  in  this  negociation. 

Caramalli,  his  general,  and  a  great  assemblage  of  incon- 
gruous materials  called  an  army,  moved  across  the  desarts  ; 
and  endured  every  thing  which  they  might  have  anticipa- 
ted from  the  nature  of  the  country.  After  passing  about 
six  hundred  miles  they  reached  the  city  of  Derne,  which 
they  triumphantly  entered,  and  at  least  found  some  repose 
and  a  supply  of  their  immediate  wants. 

The  reigning  Bashaw  in  the  mean  time  had  augmented 
his  garrisons  to  three  thousand  Turkish  troops,  and  an  ar- 
my of  more  than  twenty  thousand  Arabs  were  encamped 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  strong  city  of  Tripoli.  How- 
ever contemptuously  he  might  smile  at  the  force  which 
surrounded  his  approaching  brother  by  land,  and  however 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  193 

iitlle  he  cared  for  the  loss  of  the  little  city  of  Derne,  a 
"  fearful  looking  for  of  judgment"  harrowed  his  guilty  soul 
when  he  beheld  the  whole  of  Commodore  Preble's  squad- 
ron, upon  the  first  week  of  August,  approaching  the  har- 
bour of  Tripoli. 

He  had  seen  (he  gallant  Capt.  Decatur,  in  his  hay  cap- 
ture one  of  his  corsairs — he  had  seen  the  same  warrior  with 
the  same  corsair  destroy  his  heaviest  ship  of  war,  under  tiic 
very  guns  of  his  batteries  and  castle,  surrounded  also  by 
his  marine  force.  The  name  of  Decatur  sounded  in  his 
ear,  like  the  knells  of  his  parting  glory  ;  and  when  he  saw 
the  broad  pendant  of  Preble  waving  upon  that  wonder- 
working ship  the  Constitution,  and  surrounded  by  brigs, 
bombards,  and  gun-boats,  he  almost  despaired.  He  had 
the  crew  of  the  Philadelphia  and  many  other  Americans  in 
wretched  bondage.  Determining  to  extort  an  enormous 
ransom  for  the  prisoners  from  the  American  government  to 
enable  him  to  support  the  vain  and  gorgeous  pageantry  of 
royally,  he  demanded  the  sum  of  six  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars for  their  emancipation,  and  an  annual  tribute  as  the 
price  of  peace.  This  Mr.  Lear  indignantly  rejected.  He 
left  it  with  such  negociators  as  Com.  Preble,  Decatur,  &c. 
to  make  the  interchange  of  powers,  and  to  agree  upon  the 
preliminaries  of  a  treaty. 

After  having  stated  that  the  whole  of  Com.  Preble'!; 
squadron  laid  before  Tripoli,  the  reader  may  have  been 
led  to  suppose  that  it  was  a  very  formidable  force.  But  to 
prepare  the  mind  to  follow  him  and  his  comrades  into  the 
harbour,  and  to  pursue  him  to  the  very  mouths  of  the  Ba- 
shaw's cannon  upon  his  batteries,  in  his  castle,  and  on 
board  his  corsairs,  gun-boats,  and  other  marine  force, 
mounting  little  less  than  three  hundred  cannon— let  it  be 


194  NAVAL  HEROES. 

remembered  that  his  whole  squadron,  including  the  Nea- 
politan bombards  and  gun-boats,  mounted  less  guns  than 
one  completely  armed  seventy-four,  and  one  frigate  ! !  His 
squadron  consisted  of  one  frigate,  three  brigs,  (one  of  which 
had  been  captured  from  the  enemy)  three  schooners,  two 
bombards,  and  six  gun-boats.  His  men  amounted  to  a 
very  little  over  one  thousand  ;  a  considerable  number  of 
whom  were  Neapolitans,  upon  whom  he  could  place  but 
little  reliance  in  a  close  engagement  with  Turks.  But  he 
felt  like  a  warrior,  and  knew  that  Americans  were  heroes. 

cc  *******     From  hearts  so  firm, 

"  Whom  dangers  fortify,  and  toils  inspire, 

<;  What  has  a  leader  not  to  hope  ?" 

Com.  Preble  had  made  the  best  possible  preparations  he 
could,  with  his  limited  means,  to  effect  his  ultimate  object. 
The  four  preceding  squadrons  sent  to  the  Mediterranean 
under  Corns.  Dale,  Murray,  Morris  and  Rodgers,  had 
gone  but  little  beyond  mere  blockading  ships — for  this  was 
all  they  could  do.  The  American  government,  in  the  sea- 
son of  1803,  used  every  exertion  to  prepare  a  respectable 
augmentation  to  Com.  Preble's  squadron,  and  in  the  mean- 
time he  was  preparing  to  make  "  demonstrations"  upon 
Tripoli  rather  more  impressive  than  those  made  by  ten 
times  his  force  upon  fort  M'Henry,  fort  Bowyer,  and  fort 
St.  Phillip  by  immense  British  squadrons  in  the  war  of  1 8  i  2 
in  America. 

After  having  been  baffled  for  a  long  time  by  adverse 
winds,  he  reached  the  harbour  of  Tripoli  in  the  last  week 
of  July.  The  Bashaw  affected  to  disguise  the  real  appre- 
hensions he  felt  by  exclaiming  to  his  courtiers — "  They 
will  mark  their  distance  for  tacking — they  are  a  sort  of 
Jews  who  have  no  notion  of  fighting."     He  had  not  yet 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  I9i> 

sufficiently  studied  the  American  character;  and  needed 
a  few  more  lessons  from  Prebie,  Decatur,  &c.  to  enable 
him  thoroughly  to  comprehend  it.  He  was  soon  to  learn 
that  Americans  upon  the  ocean  were  not  like  the  children 
of  Israel,  or  the  descendants  of  Ishmael. 

Captain  Decatur  was  selected  by  Commodore  Preble  to 
command  one  division  of  the  gun-boats,  and  Lieut.  Somers 
the  other.  The  duty  imposed  upon  them  was  of  a  nature 
the  most  hazardous ;  as  from  the  little  water  they  drew, 
they  would  come  almost  into  contact  with  the  Bashaw's 
batteries  and  castle  where  the  numerous  gun  boats  of  the 
Tripolitans  were  stationed.  As  this  was  one  of  the  most 
desperate  engagements  amongst  the  numerous  ones  in 
wh;ch  Americans  were  ever  called  to  display  their  nau- 
tical skill  and  desperate  courage,  the  reader  will  indulge 
the  writer  in  detailing  it  particularly  as  related  to  him  by 
one  of  the  officers  on  board  the  Cons'titution,  lying  in  full 
view  of  the  bloody  scene. 

The  bombards,  each  carrying  a  mortar  of  thirteen  inch- 
es were  commanded,  one  by  Lieut,  commandant  Dent,  and 
the  other  by  first  Lieut.  Robinson,  of  the  Constitution. 
The  gun-boats  were  thus  arranged,  mounting  each  a  brass 
twenty-six  pounder. 


First  Division. 
No.  I.  Lieut.  Somers. 
No,  II.  Lieut.  J.  Decatur. 
No.  III.  Lieut.  Blake. 


Second  Division. 
No.  IV.  Capt.  Decatur. 
No.  V.   Lieut.   Bainbridge. 
No.  VI.  Lieut.  Trippe. 


The  Constitution,  Com.  Preble's  flag  ship,  the  brigs  and 
the  schooners  were  to  be  situated  to  cover  them  from  the 
fire  of  the  batteries  and  the  castle,  and  to  silence  if  possible 
the  tremendous  cannonade  expected  from  more  than  two 
hundred  pieces  of  heavy  ordnance  mounted  on  them  and 
in  the  marine  force  of  the  enemv- 


196  NAVAL  HEROES. 

Although  the  squadron  had  been  long  in  the  Mediterra- 
nean, the  unceasing  vigilance  and  assiduity  of  Com.  Preble, 
and  the  rest  of  the  officers  and  seamen,  had  kept  it  in  the 
most  complete  preparation  for  any  service. 

The  bashaw  was  also  prepared  to  receive  them,  and, 
as  he  confidently  expected,  to  repulse  them.  Com.  Pre- 
ble had  not  the  most  distant  wish  to  enter  the  city  with  his 
small  force.  He  was  determined,  if  possible,  to  destroy 
the  naval  force,  the  batteries,  and  the  castle  of  the  enemy, 
and  conquer  them  into  peace  upon  his  chosen  element. 

Upon  the  3d  of  August,  the  gales  subsided,  and  the  Com- 
modore resolved  to  commence  an  attack.  The  disparity 
of  force  between  Preble  and  the  Bashaw  of  Tripoli,  was 
much  greater  than  that  of  Nelson  and  the  King  of  Den- 
mark at  Copenhagen. 

At  half  past  ten  o'clock,  the  bombards,  from  signals  pre- 
viously arranged,  stood  in  for  the  town,  followed  by  the 
whole  squadron,  in  the  most  gallant  style. 

More  than  two  hundred  of  the  Bashaw's  guns  were 
brought  to  bear  directly  upon  the  American  squadron. — 
Included  in  this  force  of  the  enemy,  were  one  heavy  armed 
brig — two  schooners — two  large  gallies,  and  nineteen  gun- 
boats ;  each  of  superior  force  to  those  commanded  by  Cap- 
tain Decatur  and  Lieutenant  Somers  ;  as  they  mounted 
each  a  brass  twenty-four  pounder,  in  the  bow,  and  two 
smaller  guns  in  the  stern. 

The  number  of  men  in  each  boat  of  the  enemy,  were 
forty.  In  the  six  boats  of  Com.  Preble's  squadron,  were 
twenty-seven  Americans,  and  thirteen  Neapolitans  each  ; 
but,  as  the  latter,  in  close  engagement,  remained  aghast — 
in  awe-struck  astonishment,  and  declined  boarding,  they 
were  of  but  little  service,  but  rather  a  detriment.     Thej* 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  197 

huddled  together,  and,  instead  of  aiding  the  Americans, 
were  praying  for  their  own  suuls,  while  they  ought  to  have 
been  destroying  the  bodies  of  the  Turks. 

Thus,  at  the  commencement  of  the  engagement  between 
the  rival  gun- boats,  the  different  forces  stood — 
American;  Tripolitan. 

Gun-boats     6  guns  6  Gunboats      19  guns  57 

Americans     162  Officers  and  seamen  760 

Neapolitans     78 

Officers  and  seamen — 240 

To  "  make  assurance  doubly  sure,"  the  enemy's  gun- 
boats were  stationed  directly  under  cover  of  the  Bashaw's 
batteries,  and  within  gunshot  of  them.  So  perfectly  con- 
fident were  their  commanders  of  a  decisive  victory,  that 
the  sails  of  every  one  of  them  had  been  removed,  being  de- 
termined to  conquer  or  to  sink. 

Com.  Preble  had  so  arranged  his  squadron  as  to  afford 
every  possible  aid  to  his  two  bombards,  and  his  six  gun- 
boats;  but  his  ulterior  object  was  to  pour  his  heaviest 
shot  into  the  batteries,  the  castle,  and  the  town — knowing 
that  if  he  dismayed  the  boasting  Bashaw  in  his  den,  his  af- 
frighted slaves  would  flee  in  promiscuous  consternation. 

The  elevated  roof  of  the  palace, — the  terraces  of  the 
houses,  and  every  building  capable  of  sustaining  spectators 
were  crowded  to  overflowing,  to  behold  the  triumph  of  Ma- 
hometans over  Christians. 

At  a  little  before  3  o'clock,  August  3d,  the  gallant  Com- 
modore made  signal  for  general  action.  The  bombards 
led  in  ;  and,  with  a  precision  and  rapidity,  perfectly  as- 
tonishing, poured  their  shells  into  the  city. 

The  immense  force  of  the   Bashaw  immediately  opened 
their  whole  batteries  upon  the  squadron,  from  the  land  and 
27 


i98  NAVAL  HEROES. 

in  the  harbour.  The  Constitution,  the  Brig?,  and  Schoon- 
ers, approached  within  musket  shot  of  them,  and  answered 
the  tire  of  the  enemy.  Every  soul  was  inspired  by  the  fear- 
less example  of  Com.  Preble. 
\|  Captain  Decatur,  in  the  leading  Gunboat  of  his  division^ 
followed  by  Lieutenants  Bainbridge,  and  Trippe,  in  Nos. 
5,  and  6,  bore  impetuously  into  the  midst  of  the  enemy's 
windward  division  of  nine  Gunboats,  consisting  of  the  men 
and  guns  before  mentioned. 

He  had  previously  ordered  his  three  boats  to  unship 
their  bowsprits  ;  as  he  and  his  dauntless  comrades  resolv- 
ed to  board  the  enemy.  Lieutenant  Somers  and  his  divis- 
ion, were  to  follow  and  support  Captain  Decatur's  ;  but 
his  and  Lieutenant  Blake's  boats  had  fallen  so  far  to  lee- 
ward that  it  was  rendered  impossible.  Lieutenant  James 
B.  Decatur,  of  No.  II.  however,  brought  his  boat  into  his 
intrepid  brother's  division,  and  entered  into  the  engagement 
nearly  at  the  same  time  with  him. 

A  contest  more  unequal  and  more  desperate  cannot  be 
imagined.  As  soon  as  the  contending  boats  were  brought 
into  contact  with  each  other,  the  discharge  of  the  cannon 
and  musketry,  on  board  of  them,  almost  entirely  ceased, 
and  the  more  bloody  and  destructive  struggle  with  swords, 
sabres,  espontoons,  spears,  scirnetars,  and  other  deadly 
weapons  succeeded. 

Captain  Decatur  grappled  an  enemy's  boat,  full  armed 
and  full  manned — leaped  on  board  of  her — was  followed 
by  only  fifteen  Americans,  (little  more  than  one  third  of 
the  Tripolitans  in  number,)  and,  in  the  space  of  ten  min- 
utes made  her  his  prize. 

At  this  moment  the  American  Gunboats  were  brought 
within  range  of  the  Bashaw's  batteries  which  opened  a  tre- 
mendous though  harmless  cannonade  upon  them. 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  199 

Com.  Preble,  perceiving  the  imminent  danger,  and  the 
almost  inevitable  destruction  of  Captain  Decatur's  division 
of  boats,  immediately  ordered  the  signai  for  retreat  to  be 
made. 

Amongst  the  numerous  signals  on  board  the  Commo- 
dore's ship,  that  for  the  retreat  of  the  boats  had  been  acci- 
dentally omitted.  The  dauntless  Preble  determining  to 
support  them,  or  perish  with  them,  brought  the  Constitu- 
tion, the  Brigs,  and  the  Schooners,  to  within  three  cables 
length  of  the  batteries — completely  silenced  them  by  a  few 
broadsides,  and  covered  the  retreat  of  the  Gunboats  with 
their  prizes.  Had  he  left  them  to  their  fate,  their  fate 
would  have  been  inevitable. 

But  a  duty,  encircled  with  peril  without  a  parallel — an 
achievement  to  be  performed  without  an  equal — a  display 
of  affection  surpassing  the  tales  of  romance — and  the  sud- 
den execution  of  vengeance  upon  transgression  remained 
for  Captain  Decatur,  before  he  left  the  blood-stained  har- 
bour-of  Tripoli. 

His  gallant  brother,  Lt.  James  B.  Decatur,  no  less  daring 
than  himself,  had  captured  a  Tripolitan  gun-boat ;  and,  af- 
ter it  was  surrendered  to  him,  its  commander,  with  diabo- 
lical perfidiousness,  combined  with  dastardly  ferocity,  shot 
him  dead,  just  as  he  was  stepping  upon  deck  !  While  the 
Americans  were  recovering  the  body  of  their  commander, 
the  Turks  escaped  with  the  prize  boat. 

As  Captain  Decatur  was  bearing  his  prize  triumphantly 
out  of  the  harbour,  this  heart  rending  catastrophe  was  com 
municated  to  him. 

Instinctive  vengeance,  sudden  as  the  electric  shock,  took 
possession  of  his  naturally  humane  and  pailanthropic  soul. 
It  was  no  time  for  pathetic  lamentation.     The  mandate  of 


200  NAVAL  HEROES. 

nature,  and  nature's  God,  cried  aloud  in  his  ear — Avenge  a 
brothers  blood. 

With  a  celerity,  almost  supernatural,  he  changed  his 
course — rushed  within  the  enemy's  whole  line,  with  his 
single  boat,  with  the  gallant  Macdonough  and  eight  men 
only  for  his  crew  ! ! 

His  previous  desperate  rencontres,  scarcely  paralleled, 
and  never  surpassed  in  any  age  or  country,  seem  like  safe- 
ty itself  when  compared  with  what  immediately  followed. 

Like  an  ancient  knight,  in  the  days  of  chivalry,  he  scorn- 
ed, on  any  occasion  like  this,  to  tarnish  his  sword  with  the 
blood  of  vassals.  His  first  object  was  to  board  the  boat 
that  contained  the  base  and  perfidious  commander,  whose 
hands  still  smoked  with  the  blood  of  his  murdered  brother, 
This  gained,  he  forced  his  way  through  a  crew  of  Turks, 
quadruple  the  number  of  his  own  ;  and,  like  an  avenging 
messenger  of  the  King  of  Terrors,  singled  out  the  guilty 
victim.  The  strong  and  powerful  Turk,  first  assailed  him 
with  a  long  espontoon,  heavily  ironed  at  the  thrusting. end. 
In  attempting  to  cut  off  the  staff,  Captain  Decatur  furious- 
ly struck  the  ironed  part  of  the  weapon,  and  broke  his 
sword  at  the  hilt.  The  Turk  made  a  violent  thrust,  and 
wounded  Decatur  in  his  sword  arm  and  right  breast.  He 
suddenly  wrested  the  wreapon  from  the  hand  of  his  gigantic 
antagonist  ;  and,  as  one  "  doubly  arm'd  who  hath  his  quar- 
rel just,"  he  closed  with  him  ;  and,  after  a  long,  fierce,  and 
doubtful  struggle,  prostrated  him  upon  the  deck. 

During  this  struggle,  one  of  Decatur's  crew  who  had  lost 
the  use  of  both  arms  by  severe  wounds,  beheld  a  Turk, 
with  an  immense  sabre,  aiming  a  fatal  blow  at  his  adored 
commander.  He  immediately  threw  his  mutilated  body 
between  the  falling  sabre  and  his  Captain's  head — received 


COM.   EDWARD  PREBLE.  201 

a  severe  fracture  in  his  own,  and  saved  for  his  country, 
one  of  its  most  distinguished  champions,  to  fight  its  future 
battles  upon  the  ocean*  While  Decatur  and  the  Turk 
were  struggling  for  life  in  the  very  throat  of de&th,  the  ex- 
asperated and  infuriated  crews  rushed  impetuously  for- 
ward in  defence  of  their  respective  captains.  A  scene 
terrific  and  horrible  beyond  description  followed.  The 
Turk  drew  a  concealed  dagger  from  its  sheath,  which  De- 
catur seized  at  the  moment  it  was  pointed  at  his  heart — 
drew  his  own  pistol  from  his  pocket,  and  instantly  sent 
his  furious  foe, 

"  To  his  long  account,  unanointed,  unanneal'd, 
"  With  all  his  sins  and  imperfections  on  his  head." 

Thus  ended  a  conflict,  feebly  described,  but  dreadful  in 
the  extreme.  Captain  Decatur  and  all  his  men  were  se- 
verely wounded  but  four.  The  Turks  lay  killed  and 
wounded  in  heaps  around  him.  The  boat  was  a  floating 
Golgotha  for  the  dead,  and  a  bloody  arena  for  the  wounded 
and  dying. 

Captain  Decatur  bore  his  second  prize  out  of  the  har- 
bour, as  he  had  the  first,  amidst  a  shower  of  ill-directed 
shot  from  the  astonished  and  bewildered  enemy  ;  and  con- 
ducted them  both  to  the  squadron. 

On  board  the  two  prizes,  there  were  thirty-three  offi- 
cers and  men  killed  ;    more  than  double  the   number  of 

*  This  was  an  instance  of  affection  which  has  hut  few  parallels.  To 
sacrifice  property  for  a  companion  and  a  friend,  is  no  uncommon  oc- 
currence- But,  for  a  common  seaman,  to  offer  his  life  to  save  his 
commander,  with  whom,  perhaps,  he  never  spoke,  shows  a  trait  of 
character,  equally  admirable  in  the  offered  victim,  and  in  him  whose 
manly  virtues  attracted  such  romantic  affection.  The  lamented  De- 
catur afterwards  distinguished  this  seaman  with  something  more  than 
mere  notice— he  gave  him  money. 


202  NAVAL  HEROES. 

Americans  under  Decatur  at  any  one  time  in  close  en- 
gagement. Twenty-seven  were  made  prisoners,  nine- 
teen of  whom  were  desperately  wounded — the  whole  a 
miserable  off-set  for  the  blood  of  Lieutenant  Decatur, 
treacherously  slain.  The  blood  of  all  Tripoli  could  not 
atone  for  it,  nor  a  perpetual  pilgrimage  to  Mecca  wash 
away  the  bloody  stain. 

The  gallant  and  lamented  Lieut.  Somers,  as  he  could 
not  join  Decatur,  as  ordered,  with  his  single  boat  No.  I. 
attacked  five  full  armed  and  full  manned  Tripolitan  gun- 
boats— committed  dreadful  slaughter  amongst  them,  and 
drove  them  upon  the  rocks  in  a  condition  dreadfully  shat- 
tered. 

Lieut.  Trippe,  whose  name  will  forever  be  associated  with 
courage,  as  well  as  that  of  midshipman  Henly,  with  only 
nine  men  besides  themselves,  rushed  on  board  an  enemy'6 
gun-boat — slew  fourteen,  and  made  twenty-two  prisoners, 
seven  of  whom  were  badly  wounded.  Lieut.  Trippe  re- 
ceived eleven  sabre  wounds.  Lieut.  Bainbridge,  also  dis- 
tinguished himself  for  saving  his  disabled  boat  and  gallant 
crew  from  almost  certain  destruction,  and  beating  off  the 
enemy. 

The  bombards,  by  the  rapid  and  accurate  directions  of 
shells,  spread  as  much  consternation  in  the  city  as  the 
squadron  did  in  the  harbour. 

The  skilful  and  fearless  Com.  Preble,  in  the  frigate 
Constitution,  keeping  his  ship  in  easy  motion,  was  found 
wherever  the  greatest  danger  threatened  ;  and  by  frequent- 
ly wearing  and  tacking,  gave  perpetual  annoyance  to  the 
enemy,  and  afforded  to  the  smaller  vessels  of  his  squadron, 
constant  protection. 

The  enemy,  driven  to  desperation,  by  the  loss  of  their 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE. 

boats,  and  by  the  numerous  hosts  of  their  comrades  slain 
iipon  land,  as  well  as  those  who  fell  under  their  immediate 
view,  attempted  to  rally,  and  regain  what  they  had  lost. 
They  were  suddenly  foiled  by  the  brigs  and  schooners,  who 
acted  a  no  less  gallant  part  in  this  desperate  ocean-allVav 
than  did  all  the  rest  of  this  immortalized  squadron.  They 
attempted  a  second  time  ;  and  met  with  a  second  repulse. 
Finding  that  no  naval  power  in  the  Mediterranean  could 
withstand  Com.  Preble's  squadron,  they  sought  a  covert 
under  rocks,  a  natural,  and  under  batteries  and  castles,  ar 
tiiicial  defences. 

At  a  little  before  5  o'clock,  Com.  Preble,  with  the  whole 
squadron,  and  their  prizes,  and  prisoners,  moved  majesti- 
cally out  of  the  harbour  ;  and  left  the  Bashaw  to  examine 
and  reflect  upon  the  consequences  of  the  third  visit  which 
the  vessels  of  his  squadron  had  made. 

The  reader  who  has  past  his  early,  advanced,  and  closing 
years  of  life  in  the  tranquil  scenes  of  retirement,  can  form 
but  a  faint  idea  of  the  sensations  of  the  officers  and  seamen 
of  Com.  Preble's  squadron  when  they  met  each  other  after 
this  desperate  and  most  unequal  combat. 

Every  one  would  naturally  inquire — "  How  many  were 
killed  and  wounded  in  the  frigate — how  many  in  the  differ- 
ent brigs,  schqpiers,  bombards  and  gun-boats."  It  was 
for  Captain  Decatur  to  make  the  answer.  "  Many  are 
wounded,  my  comrades,  but  not  one  is  slain,  but  my  bro- 
ther." He  might  have  said — "  If  you  have  tears  to  shed, 
shed  them  now."  Well  might  the  tears  of  grief  be  mingled 
with  the  smiles  of  triumph,  upon  this  saddening  intelligence. 
k'  Death  loves  a  shining  mark,"  and  when  James  B.  Deca- 
tur fell,  me  American  navy  lost  a  brilliant  ornament — 
Com.  Preble  a  favourite  officer,  Capt  Decatur  a  brother. 


J94  NAVAL  HEROES. 

he  loved  as  he  did  himself,  and  our  Republic  a  most  gal- 
lant and  accomplished  ocean  warrior.  But,  like  Nelson, 
he  died  in  the  arms  of  victory,  and  his  death  was  most  sig- 
nally avenged. 

As  represented  by  an  officer  of  the  Constitution,  when 
Captain  Decatur,  Lieutenant  Trippe,  Macdonough,  Hen- 
ly,  and  most  of  the  officers  and  seamen  belonging  to  the 
gun-boats,  joined  the  squadron,  they  looked  as  if  they  had 
just  escaped  from  the  slaughter-house.  Their  truly  noble 
blood  was  mingled  with  that  of  Mahometans,  and  the  garb 
of  those  whose  hearts  or  hands  would  never  be  stained  with 
dishonour,  were  crimsoned  with  barbarous  blood. 

The  injury  sustained  by  Com.  Preble's  squadron  sinks 
into  nothing  when  the  danger  it  was  exposed  to  is  consid- 
ered. This  was  owing  to  the  consummate  nautical  skill 
and  coolness  of  the  Commodore  and  his  officers  and  sea- 
men ;  and  to  the  stupid,  sullen  ignorance  and  consterna- 
tion of  the  enemy. 

To  them  the  3d  of  August  was  a  day  of  dreadful  retribu- 
tion. A  furious  tornado  not  more  suddenly  drives  the 
feathered  race  to  their  coverts,  than  did  the  first  discharges 
from  our  squadron,  the  frenzied  Turks,  who  came  to  wit- 
ness its  discomfiture. 

From  the  representation  of  an  intellige^officer,  once  of 
the  Philadelphia,  then  a  prisoner  to  the  bashaw,it  is  learned 
that  every  one  in  the  city  fled  who  could  flee.  Even  the 
troops  in  the  batteries  and  castle  dared  not  mount  the  par- 
apet to  discharge  the  cannon.  The  affrighted  Bashaw, 
with  a  Mahometan  priest  concealed  himself  in  his  bomb- 
proof room ;  and  undoubtedly  responded  to  the  roar  of 
christian  cannon,  by  pitiful  orisons  to  the  Prophet  of  Mecca. 
They  were  as  fruitless  as  the  prayers  of  the  Philistines  to 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  205 

Dagon  or  Ashdod.  His  slaves  who  had  no  covert,  buried 
themselves  in  sand  to  escape  the  bursting  bombs.  Although 
it  was  a  scene  of  blood  and  carnage,  there  is  enough  of  the 
ludicrous  in  it  to  excite  a  smile  in  the  American  reader.  It 
clearly  evinces  that  those  who  are  most  boastful  and  impe- 
rious, when  possessed  of  real  or  supposed  power,  are  the 
most  mean,  pusillanimous,  and  contemptible  when  convin 
ced  of  their  weakness. 

I  will  here  present  the  reader  with  the  sentiments  of  a 
distinguished  Turk  in  the  language  of  an  American  officer, 
then  a  prisoner.  He  asked  the  officer — "  If  those  men  that 
fought  so  were  Americans,  or  internals  in  Christian  shape 
sent  to  destroy  the  sons  of  Mahomet  the  prophet  ?  The 
English,  French,  and  Spanish  consuls  have  told  us  that 
they  are  a  young  nation,  and  got  their  independence  by 
means  of  France.  That  they  had  a  small  navy,  and  their 
officers  were  inexperienced  ;  and  that  they  were  merely  a 
nation  of  merchants ;  and  that  by  taking  their  ships  and 
men  we  should  get  great  ransoms. — Instead  of  this,  their 
Preble  pays  us  a  coin  of  shot,  shells  and  hard  blows ;  and 
sent  a  Decatur  in  a  dark  night,  with  a  band  of  christian 
dogs,  fierce  and  cruel  as  the  tiger,  who  killed  our  brothers 
and  burnt  our  ships  before  our  eyes." 

By  this  first  attack,  the  city  of  Tripoli  suffered  consider- 
able damage.  Many  of  the  guns  were  dismounted,  and 
many  Turks  were  slain.  But  it  was  in  the  Bashaw's 
marine  force,  where  the  most  destructive  blow  was  struck. 
In  the  two  prizes  taken  by  Capt.  Decatur,  and  the  one  by 
Lieut.  Trippe,  there  were  originally  one  hundred  and 
twenty  men.  Forty-seven  were  killed,  twenty-six  wound- 
ed, who,  with  the  remainder,  were  taken  prisoners.  Three 
full  manned  boats  were  sunk  with  every  soul  on  board  : 
28 


206  NAVAL  HEROES. 

and  almost  every  deck  of  the  enemy's  vessels  within  the 
range  of  American  cannon  were  swept  of  their  crews. 

In  consequence  of  the  destruction  of  the  Philadelphia 
frigate,  the  barbarism  of  Jussuff,  the  bloody  Bashaw,  was 
increased  against  Captain  Bainbridge,  and  his  officers  and 
seamen  in  bondage.  But  Com.  Preble  and  Capt.  Deca- 
tur, aided  by  the  magnanimous  and  patriotic  exertions  of 
Sir  Alexander  Ball,  once  a  favourite  officer  with  Nelson, 
and  then  at  the  island  of  Malta,  found  means  to  alleviate 
the  dismal  gloom  of  their  bondage.  A  gallant  naval  com- 
mander, like  Sir  Alexander  Ball,  could  not  endure  the 
thought  that  a  gallant  hero  like  Bainbridge  and  his  valiant 
crew,  should  surfer  indignity  or  abuse  from  such  a  sangui- 
nary wretch  as  Jussuff  and  his  slaves. 

After  the  3d  of  August,  the  humbled  Bashaw  began  to 
relent.     But  his  conviction  was  more  the  result  of  alarm 
ing  fears,  than  of  a  consciousness  of  guilt. 

The  noble  hearted  Preble  treated  his  wounded  prisoners 
with  the  greatest  humanity.  Their  wounds  were  dressed 
with  the  utmost  care  ;  and,  upon  the  5th,  he  sent  fourteen 
of  them  home  to  their  friends. 

In  a  generous  bosom,  although  an  enemy,  such  an  act 
would  have  excited  inexpressible  admiration  ;  and  although 
a  species  of  revenge  calculated  to  "  heap  coals  of  fire  upon 
the  head"  of  a  subdued  enemy,  yet  it  should  have  melted  a 
heart  of  adamant.  The  Bashaw  knew  that  one  of  his  offi- 
cers had  basely  slain  Lieut.  Decatur,  and  could  not  com- 
prehend the  motives  of  his  humanity.  His  savage  subtilty 
augured  evil,  even  from  an  act  of  pure  benevolence.  But 
when  he  heard  the  wounded  and  restored  Tripolitans  ex- 
claim in  the  rapture  of  enforced  gratitude,  "  the  Americana 
in  battle  are  fiercer  than  lions,  and  after  victory,  kinder 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  207 

ihan  Mussulmen,"  his  savage  heart  began  to  soften.  But, 
without  a  great  ransom,  he  would  not  release  a  single  pris- 
oner who  belonged  to  the  Philadelphia  frigate. 

From  the  3d  to  the  7th  of  August,  Com.  Preble,  and  the 
rest  of  the  officers  and  seaman  had  but  little  time  for  repose 
after  their  arduous  toils  in  reaching  the  harbour  of  Tripoli, 
and  administering  to  the  Bashaw  aportion  of  American  ven- 
geance. They  were  all  incessantly  engaged  in  preparing 
for  another  visit.  They  had  become  perfectly  familiar 
with  the  theatre  of  action  on  which  the  American  squadron 
was  now  acting  its  various  parts.  Every  scene  was  draw- 
ing towards  the  developement  of  the  tragedy.  The  impe- 
rious tone  of  the  Bashaw  was  lowered  as  his  hopes  of  safe- 
ty diminished.  He  however  would  surrender  no  prisoners 
without  a  ransom  beyond  what  Com.  Preble  thought  him- 
self authorised  by  his  government  to  offer.  He  rather 
preferred  to  have  consul  Lear  negotiate  upon  land  ;  and 
he  felt  confident  of  his  powers  to  negotiate  with  his  invin- 
cible squadron. 

All  the  officers  of  every  grade,  and  every  seaman,  exert- 
ed every  nerve  to  aid  Com.  Preble.  They  stood  around 
him  like  affectionate  and  obedient  children  around  a  be- 
loved and  dignified  parent,  anxious  to  learn  his  precepts, 
and  prompt  to  obey  his  commands.  He  stood  in  the  midst 
of  them  in  the  double  capacity  of  their  father,  and  a  repre- 
sentative of  his  and  their  country.  He  knew  they  would 
follow  wherever  he  would  lead,  and  would  lead  where  ne- 
cessary prudence  would  prevent  him  from  following. — 
Well  might  the  astonished  Turks  compare  them  to  lions  ; 
for  they  had  proved  themselves  irresistible  in  battle — gen- 
erous and  noble  in  victory. 

Com.  Preble  could  bestow  nothing  upon  his  officers  and 


208  NAVAL  HEROES. 

seaman,  but  his  highest  and  most  unqualified  commenda- 
tion. This  was  not  the  mere  effusion  of  an  admiring  com- 
mander, surrounded  by  his  victorious  comrades  around 
the  festive  board,  after  a  signal  victory,  but  it  was  official- 
ly announced  to  the  whole  squarron  in  a  "general  order" 
upon  the  4th.  The  Commodore  knew  well  where  to  be- 
stow applause,  and  when  to  make,  or  rather  to  recommend 
promotion.  His  general  order  is  in  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment. 

Amidst  the  congratulations  in  the  squadron  for  the  suc- 
cessful issue  of  the  first  attack  upon  Tripoli,  a  silent  gloom 
irresistibly  pervaded  the  hearts  of  the  officers  and  seamen. 
It  was  not  caused  by  contemplating  upon  the  arduous  and 
yet  uncertain  contest  which  they  were  directly  to  renew. 
Inured  to  duty  and  familiar  with  victory,  they  were  total 
strangers  to  fear.  But  Lieutenant  James  B.  Decatur 
"  was  dead  !"  While  they  were  floating  triumphantly  up- 
on the  waves  of  the  Mediterranean,  his  body  was  reposing 
in  death  upon  its  bed  ;  and  his  gallant  spirit  had  flown  to 
heaven.  The  shouts  of  joy  over  all  Britain  for  the  victory 
of  Trafalgar,  were  mingled  with  groans  of  grief  for  the 
death  of  Nelson.  No  less  pungent  was  the  sorrow  of  in- 
trepid Americans  at  the  fall  of  Lieutenant  Decatur. 

He  had  unremittingly  pursued  the  duty  of  the  naval  pro- 
fession from  the  time  he  entered  the  navy,  until  the  day 
he  was  basely  and  treacherously  slain.  It  is  inconsistent 
with  the  design  of  this  sketch,  to  go  into  a  minute  detail  of 
his  life.  Suffice  it  then  to  say,  that  by  a  long  course  of 
assiduous  duty  in  various  ships  of  the  American  navy,  and 
under  different  commanders,  he  secured  to  himself  the  con- 
fidence of  his  superiors,  and  the  approbation  of  his  govern- 
ment.    The  post  assigned  him   upon  the  3d  of  August, 


COM.  EDWARD  PKEBLE.  200 

evinced  the  high  estimation  in  which  he  was  holden  by  the 
discerning  and  penetrating  Com.  Preble.  The  manner  in 
which  he  discharged  the  duty  imposed  upon  him,  and  the 
manner  in  which  he  fell,  have  already  been  mentioned. 
His  memory  is  embalmed  with  those  of  Somers,  Wads- 
worth,  and  Israel,  who  followed  him  into  eternity  thirty 
days  after  he  left  the  world,  and  who  made  their  exit  from 
the  same  sanguinary  theatre  upon  which  he  fell. 

The  fearful,  yet  temporising  Bashaw,  through  the  me- 
dium of  a  foreign  consul,  offered  terms  to  Com.  Preble 
which  he  indignantly  rejected,  as  degrading  to  his  govern- 
ment. 

Upon  the  7th,  another  attack  was  resolved  upon  ;  and 
the  squadron  arranged  in  order  to  execute  it.  The  effect 
desired  was  produced.  A  heavy  battery  was  silenced — 
many  bomb  shells  and  round  shot  were  thrown  into  the 
town — and,  although  the  damage  to  the  enemy  was  not  so 
essential  as  the  attack  of  the  3d,  it  increased  the  dismay  of 
the  Bashaw. 

Amongst  the  Gun-boats  engaged  in  this  second  attack, 
was  one  taken  from  the  enemy  by  Capt.  Decatur.  She 
was  blown  up  by  a  hot  ball  sent  from  the  batteries  ;  and 
Lieutenant  Caldwell,  Midshipmen  Dorsey,  and  eight  sea- 
men were  killed  ;  six  were  wounded  ;  and  Midshipman 
Spence  with  eleven  seamen  were  rescued  unhurt  from  the 
waves. 

Two  days  afterwards,  Com.  Preble  took  a  deliberate 
view  of  the  harbour  in  one  of  the  Brigs,  in  order  to  deter- 
mine the  best  mode  of  commencing  a  third  attack.  He 
gave  "  no  sleep  to  the  eyes  nor  slumber  to  the  eyelids"  of 
the  sullen  and  incorrigible  wretch  who  wielded  the  sceptre 
of  blood-begotten  power  over  his  subjects,  the  wretched 


210  NAVAL  HEROES. 

and  degraded  race  of  beings  who  were  dragging  out  a  mis- 
erable existence  in  Tripoli.  The  hopes  of  the  American 
prisoners  increased,  as  those  of  the  Bashaw  and  his  troops 
diminished. 

The  terms  for  ransom  were  lowered  more  than  two 
thirds,  from  the  original  enormous  sum ;  but  Com.  Preble 
had  become  a  stern  negotiator  ;  and  Mr.  Lear  chose  to  let 
him  continue  to  display  his  diplomatic  skill,  upon  his  cho- 
sen element. 

The  prospect  of  a  long  protracted  warfare,  at  an  im- 
mense expense  to  the  American  government — the  tedious 
and  gloomy  imprisonment  of  nearly  half  a  thousand  of 
Americans,  in  the  dungeons  of  a  barbarian,  amongst  whom 
were  some  of  the  noblest  hearts  that  ever  beat  in  human 
bosoms — the  probability  that  more  American  blood  must 
be  shed  in  effecting  a  complete  subjugation  of  the  yet  un- 
yielding Bashaw,  induced  Commodore  Preble  to  offer  the 
sum  of  eighty  thousand  dollars,  as  ransom  for  the  prison- 
ers, and  ten  thousand  dollars  as  presents,  provided  he 
would  enter  into  a  solemn  and  perpetual  treaty  with  the 
American  government,  never  to  demand  an  annual  tribute 
as  the  price  of  peace. 

The  infatuated  and  infuriated  Bashaw  rejected  these 
proposals  with  affected  disdain  mingled  with  real  fear. 
Com.  Preble,  had  nothing  now  to  do  but  to  renew  his  na- 
val operations. 

To  repel  the  idea  that  the  pacific  offer  of  the  Commodore 
arose  from  apprehensions  of  defeat,  the  bombards  occasion- 
ally disgorged  their  destructive  contents  into  the  city,  to 
the  dire  consternation  of  the  bashaw  and  his  slaves. 

Upon  the  27th  of  August,  another  general  attack  was 
made  with  such  effect  as  to  induce  the  Bashaw  to  renew 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  211 

negotiations  for  peace,  but  nothing  definitive  was  effected  , 
and  Com.  Preble  took  every  advantage  of  his  horrid  fears. 
Upon  the  3d  of  September,  another  attack  was  made  to  the 
very  great  injury  of  the  Bashaw's  batteries,  castle  and  city  ; 
the  particulars  of  which  would  too  much  swell  this  sketch. 

Although  but  few  Americans  had  lost  their  lives  in  the 
various  battles,  yet  the  vessels  of  the  squadron  had  suffer 
ed  very  considerable  injury  from  incessant  service. 

It  was  proposed  that  the  ketch  Intrepid  should  be  convert 
ed  into  a  fire  ship,  and  sent  into  the  midst  of  the  enemy's 
galleys  and  gunboats  to  complete  their  destruction.  To 
this  the  Commodore  acceded — loaded  her  with  one  hun 
dred  barrels  of  powder,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  shells  ; 
and  fixed  upon  the  night  of  the  memorable  4th  of  Septem- 
ber for  the  daring  and  hazardous  attempt. 

Capt.  Somers  volunteered  his  services  and  was  designa- 
ted as  the  commander.  He  was  immediately  joined  by 
Lieutenants  Wadsworth  and  Israel,  and  a  sufficient  numbei 
of  gallant  seamen. 

Of  the  awfully  tremendous  scene  that  followed,  the  read- 
er may  be  gratified  by  a  succinct  account,  as  related  by  an 
accomplished  eye-witness,  to  the  writer;  but  any  descrip- 
tion by  the  pen  or  the  pencil  is  tame  and  dull,  compared 
with  the  animated  narration  of  Capt. . 

The  evening  was  unusally  calm  ;  and  the  sea  scarcely 
presented  the  smallest  wave  to  the  eye.  That  part  of  the 
squadron  which  was  not  designated  as  a  convoy  to  the  In- 
trepid, lay  in  the  outer  harbour.  Two  swift-sailing  boats 
were  attached  to  the  Intrepid,  and  the  Argus,  Vixen,  and 
Nautilus,  were  to  conduct  them  to  their  destination,  and 
receive  the  crew  after  the  match  was  applied  to  the  fatal 
train. 


212  NAVAL  HEROES. 

At  a  little  before  9  o'clock  the  Intrepid,  followed  by  the 
convoy,  moved  slowly  and  silently  into  the  inner  harbour, 
watched  with  the  deepest  solicitude  by  the  Argus,  &c. — 
Two  of  the  enemy's  heavy  galleys,  with  more  than  a 
hundred  men  each,  encountered  the  fire-ship,  unconscious? 
that  she  was  pregnant  with  concealed  magazines  of  death. 
They  captured  her  of  course,  as^he  little  crew  could  not 
withstand  such  an  overwhelming  force  for  a  moment. 

It  heing  the  first  prize  the  Tripolitans  had  made,  the  ex 
ulting  captors  were  about  bearing  her  and  the  prisoners  tri- 
umphantly into  port.  The  crew  were  to  be  immured  in 
the  same  dungeon  with  Capt.  Bainbridge  and  his  crew, 
who  had  worn  away  eleven  tedious  months  in  dismal 
slavery. 

To  Somers,  Wadsworth  and  Israel, 

"  One  hour  of  virtuous  liberty,  was  worth 
"  A  whole  eternity  of  bondage." 

and,  instant  death,  far  preferable  to  Turkish  captivity.  It  is 
still  left  to  conjecture,  and  must  always  be  so  left,  by  whom 
their  instantaneous  release  from  slavery  and  from  mortal- 
ity was  occasioned. 

It  is  with  an  agitated  heart  and  a  trembling  hand  that  it 
is  recorded,  that  the  Intrepid  suddenly  exploded,  and  a  few 
gallant  Americans,  with  countless  numbers  of  barbarians, 
met  with  one  common  and  undistinguished  destruction. 

It  is  generally  understood  by  American  readers  that  Capt. 
Somers,  his  officers  and  crew,  after  being  captured,  mutu- 
ally agreed  to  make  voluntary  sacrifices  of  themselves  to 
avoid  slavery  and  to  destroy  the  enemy.  In  support  of  this, 
the  writer  is  authorised  to  state  that  Capt.  Somers  direct- 
ly before  entering  into  this  enterprise,  declared  that  "  he 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  213 

would  never  be  captured  by  the  enemy  or  go  into  Turkish 
bondage."  , 

It  is  entirely  beyond  the  reach  of  the  most  fertile  ima- 
gination to  form  an  adequate  conception  of  the  reality 
of  this  awful  scene.  The  silence  that  preceded  the  ap- 
proach of  the  Intrepid,  was  followed  by  the  discharge 
of  cannon  and  musketry,  and  ended  by  the  fearful  and 
alarming  shock  of  the  explosion.  Every  living  Christian 
and  Mahometan  within  view  or  hearing,  stood  aghast  and 
awe-struck. 

Thus  barbarous  Turks  and  gallant  Americans  met  with 
one  common  destiny,  and  all  was  an  outspread  scene  of 
desolation.  The  remaining  part  of  the  night  was  as  silent 
as  the  season  that  immediately  succeeds  some  violent  con- 
vulsion of  nature. 

Com.  Preble,  who  had  the  preceding  day  enjoyed  an 
animated  interview  with  this  trio  of  heroes,  found  an  awful 
chasm  made  in  the  catalogue  of  his  associates. 

If  the  biographical  writer  could  be  allowed  to  blend  his 
own  "  reflections  and  remarks"  with  the  incidents  and 
events  he  records,  this  momentous  occurrence  might  justi- 
fy them.  It  will,  however,  only  be  observed,  that  Captain 
Somers's  memory  has  sometimes  been  assailed  by  those 
whose  contracted  and  scrupulous  system  of  morals  evinces 
a  "  zeal  without  knowledge." 

Admitting  that  he  made  a  voluntary  sacrifice  of  himself, 
his  officers  and  his  crew,  to  avenge  the  injuries  of  his  coun- 
try, and  rescue  his  numerous  countrymen,  in  his  full  view, 
from  bondage  ;  let  the  severest  casuist  that  ever  perverted 
the  plain  dictates  of  conscience,  by  metaphysical  subtlety, 
be  asked  if  every  man  who  enters  the  navy  or  army  of  his 

rountrv  does  not  voluntarily  expose  himself  to  death  in  de- 
29 


J 14  NAVAL  HEROES. 

fending  its  rights,  its  honour,  and  its  independence?  N© 
matter  in  what  manner  death  is  occasioned,  so  be  it  the 
sacrifice  adds  to  the  security  and  advances  the  glory  of  hie 
country.  Whether  it  happens  in  the  midst  of  opposing 
hosts,  in  single  combat,  or  as  that  of  Somers  and  his  com- 
rades did  by  voluntary  sacrifice,  it  equally  redounds  to  their 
glory  and  their  country's  weal.  To  those  who  form  their 
systems  exclusively  from  the  records  of  inspiration,  exam- 
ples from  them  might  be  quoted  ;  and  the  instance  of 
Sampson  alone,  who  fell  with  a  host  of  his  enemies,  will 
not,  by  them,  be  denied  as  being  analogous.  The  classical 
reader  will  immediately  recollect  that  Rome  herself  was 
twice  saved  from  destruction  by  the  voluntary  sacrifice  of 
the  Decii. 

The  writer  hopes  to  be  indulged  in  a  brief  allusion  to  the 
gallant,  the  accomplished,  the  lamented  Lieutenant  Wads- 
worth,  with  whom  he  had  the  honour,  and  enjoyed  the 
pleasure,  of  some  acquaintance.  His  birth-place  and  resi- 
dence was  in  Portland,  the  metropolis  of  the  state  of  Maine, 
and  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  great  Preble. 
To  a  very  elegant  person,  he  added  the  captivating  charms 
of  a  mind  highly  refined.  His  situation  placed  within  his 
reach  all  the  fascinating  enjoyments  of  fashionable  life ;  but 
a  participation  in  them  could  not  render  him  effeminate. 
The  previous  examples  of  Stephen  and  James  B.  Decatur 
inspired  his  ardent  bosom  with  a  thirst  for  naval  glory,  and 
this  was  enhanced  by  the  renown  acquired  by  his  distin- 
guished townsman,  and  naval  father,  Com.  Preble.  He 
repaired  to  the  renowned  sea,  whose  waves  are  bounded 
by  three  of  the  great  quarters  of  the  globe,  and  almost  in 
the  sight  of  which  the  American  squadron  was  triumphant 
ly  wafting.     He  did  not  envy,  for  envy  found  no  place  ir» 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  215 

bis  noble  heart ;  but  he  wished  to  emulate  the  gallant  deedi 
of  his  brother  officers.  The  disastrous,  yet  splendid  affair 
of  the  4th  of  September,  has  been  briefly  detailed.  Wads- 
worth  upon  that  fatal,  awful  night,  left  the  world  in  a  blaze 
of  glory — gave  his  mangled  corse  to  the  waves — his  exalt- 
ed spirit  to  heaven — and  his  immortal  fame  to  his  country. 
Although  his  precious  manes  are  "  far  away  o'er  the  bil- 
low," his  virtues  and  gallantry  are  commemorated  by  a 
monument  in  his  native  town,  the  voluntary  tribute  of  his 
admiring  friends  to  his  inestimable  worth. 

While  the  American  squadron  was  achieving  such  unpar- 
alleled deeds  in  the  Mediterranean,  the  American  govern- 
ment yet  unadvised  of  its  splendid  success,  despatched  an 
additional  squadron  to  that  sea.  From  the  state  of  the  naval 
register,  and  the  rank  of  the  post-captains,  the  new  squad- 
ron could  not  be  supplied  with  officers  without  designating 
one  who  was  senior  to  Com.  Preble.  This  devolved  upon 
Com.  James  Barron,  who  arrived  upon  the  9th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1804. 

To  an  aspiring  hero  just  entering  the  path  of  fame,  and 
anxious  to  reach  its  temple,  a  sudden  check  to  his  progress 
is  like  the  stroke  of  death.  It  was  not  so  with  Com.  Pre- 
ble when  he  was  superseded  by  Com.  Barron.  His  work 
was  "  done,  and  well  done ;"  and  he  surrendered  the 
squadron  to  his  senior  as,  Gen.  Jackson  did  his  army  to 
Gen.  Pinckney,  when  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  enjoy 
the  fruits  of  victory. 

He  immediately  gave  the  command  of  his  favourite  fri- 
gate, the  Constitution,  to  his  favourite  officer,  Captain  De- 
catur, and  obtained  leave  to  return  to  America. 

It  has  been  barely  mentioned  that  the  government  of  the 
Republic  were  unadvised  of  the  splendid  achievements  of 


216  NAVAL  HEROES. 

Com.  Preble,  when  the  additional  force  was  sent  out  from 
America  to  Tripoli.  The  slightest  recurrence  to  dates 
will  place  this  subject  beyond  all  doubt. 

Nothing  but  the  intervention  of  contrary  winds  for  a  long 
period,  had  spared  the  boasting  Bashaw  of  Tripoli,  from 
the  accumulated  stores  of  vengeance,  and  the  red  artillery 
of  Preble's  squadron,  which  were  in  reserve  for  the  chas- 
tisement, the  consternation,  and  all  but  the  annihilation  of 
this  diabolical  representative  of  the  Sultan  of  Turkey,  and 
the  vicegerent  of  Mahomet  on  earth. 

The  first  general  attack  upon  the  strong  city  of  Tripoli, 
was  made  upon  the  third  of  August,  when  the  terrible 
battle  of  the  gun-boats  took  place.  Upon  the  7th  another 
general  attack  was  made  ;  and  for  a  number  of  days  in  suc- 
cession, the  alarmed  and  affrighted  Bashaw  was  coiled  up 
like  a  venomous  reptile  in  his  bombproof  castle, — gnash- 
ing his  teeth  like  a  "  serpent  biting  a  file,"  and,  like  the 
enraged  lion  in  a  cage,  lacerating  himself  by  his  own  tail, 
he  was  torturing  his  own  horrid  and  blood-guilty  soul,  by 
the  agonizing  contortions  of  his  blood-stained  body. 

He  occasionally 

"  grirm'd  horribly  a  ghastly  smile," 

at  half  a  thousand  Americans  incarcerated  in  his  dungeons 
near  at  hand.  Amongst  them,  he  recognized  the  exalted 
spirits  of  Bainbridge,  Porter,  Jones,  Biddle,  and  about  four 
hundred  other  noble  American  ocean-champions  whose 
bodies  only  were  held  in  "  durance  vile"  by  a  detested 
power  which  they  could  not  then  resist,  or  escape,  but 
which  they  despised  with  ineffable  contempt. 

Upon  the  4th  of  September,  as  the  reader  will  recollect, 
the  truly  awful  explosion  of  the  fire-ship  "  Intrepid"  con- 
vinced the  astonished  Bashaw,  that  his  whole  marine  was 


CUM.    EDWARD  PREBLE.  211 

to  be  destroyed,  unless  he  hastened  to  make  peace  with 
the  veteran  Com.  Preble,  and  Preble's  indignant  govern- 
ment, whose  energy  he  had  so  sorely  felt. 

During  the  whole  of  the  memorable  month  of  August, 
1804,  Com.  Barron  and  his  vessels  were  as  peaceably 
wafting  over  the  Atlantic,  and  the  Mediterranean  as  Amer- 
ican ships  are  now,  1 823.  As  mentioned,  his  vessels  appear- 
ed before  Tripoli  upon  Sept.  9th,  when  the  echo  of  Corn. 
Preble's  cannon  had  scarcely  ceased  ;  and  when  the  com- 
motion of  the  waves  from  the  explosion  of  Capt.  Somers' 
fire-ship,  had  hardly  subsided. 

He  had  the  good  fortune  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  the  con- 
quest, without  hazarding  any  "  hair  breadth  'scapes"  or  at- 
tempting any  "  imminent  deadly  breach."  The  Bashaw's 
immense  batteries  were  silenced — negotiations  were  just 
commencing,  and  Com.  Barron,  without  any  opportunity  to 
show  his  skill  and  prowess,  had  nothing  to  perform  but  the 
manoeuvrings  of  his  squadron — standing  off  and  on — and 
blockading  Tripoli,  which  Capt.  Bainbridge*  in  the  Phila- 
delphia, and  Lieut.  Smitht  in  the  little  Vixen  had  done  be- 
fore him.  His  duty,  compared  with  what  Com.  Preble  had 
performed,  was  as  different  as  a  regimental  review  in  time 
of  peace  is  from  a  sanguinary  battle  infield  fight. 

The  admiring  comrades  of  Com.  Prebie  were  now  to 
perform  a  duty  more  affecting  to  the  hearts  of  noble  and 
high-minded  men,  than  danger,  battles,  bondage,  wounds, 
and  death  itself — it  was  to  bid  adieu  to  their  beloved,  vene- 
rated, and  almost  adored  commander,  Edward  Preble. 

The  parting  scene,  as  described  by  one  who  painfully 
witnessed,  and  who  was  sensibly  penetrated  with  it,  was 
one  of  the  most  interesting  that  the  mind  can  conceive. 

*  Now  Com.  Bainbridge.  f  Now  Capt.  Smith. 


218  NAVAL  HEROES. 

For  more  than  a  year,  the  Commodore,  and  his  gallant 
comrades,  had  been  absent  from  their  friends  and  their 
country — a  year  that  may  well  be  denominated  an  age  in 
the  cailendar  of  American  Naval  skill,  prowess  and  giory 
— a  period  of  splendid  and  "successful  experiment"  with 
our  ships,  and  of  naval  instruction  and  experience  to  our 
officers  and  seamen. 

Their  mutual  attachment  had  become  strongly  cement- 
ed by  common  toils  and  privations — common  dangers  and 
disasters,  and  by  fighting  the  common  enemy  of  the  civili- 
zed world,  and  forcing  Mahometans  to  crave  mercy  of  the 
same  Christians,  whom,  a  few  months  before,  they  affected 
to  despise. 

The  war-worn  and  veteran  Preble,  gave  the  parting  hand 
to  his  officers,  as  the  father  would  extend  the  hand  of  pa- 
rental affection  to  his  children,  who  were  about  to  depart 
into  a  world  beyond  his  immediate  care,  but  never  out  of 
his  remembrance  and  solicitude. 

His  officers  manifested  a  dignified  regret,  mingled  with  a 
consciousness  of  untarnished  honour,  rectitude  of  con- 
duct, and  unsurpassed  courage.. 

His  noble  tars,  who  always  sought  the  post  of  duty  and 
of  danger,  and  whose  natural  heroism  was  augmented  by  the 
fearless  example  of  their  noble  commander,  gazed  at  a  res- 
speclful  distance  upon  their  Patron,  their  Friend,  and  their 
Commodore.  With  swelling,  but  with  manly  grief,  they 
cast  their  moistened  eyes  upon  the  last  visible  piece  of 
canvas  that  wafted  their  once  beloved  commander  in  chief 
from  their  anxious  view. 

Although  all  were  affected,  none  could  be  more  so  than 
Charles  Morris*  his  midshipman  and  his  faithful  secretary 

*  Now  the  highly  respected  and  accomplished  Capt.  Morris,  conv 
missiouer  of  the  navy. 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  219 

<*n  board  the  Constitution.  This  gallant  son  of  Connecti- 
cut was  born  in  the  vicinity  of  the  writer  of  this  imperfect 
9ketch  of  his  matchless  commander's  life. 

It  is  a  sentiment  entirely  paramount  to  local  attachment, 
which  excites  his  esteem  and  respect  for  this  excellent 
man  and  excellent  officer.  His  father  was  an  officer  in 
the  naval  warfare  with  France  in  the  administration  of 
Adams.  His  son  Charles,  as  soon  as  requisite  years  and 
suitable  acquirements  rendered  him  fit  for  the  station  of  a 
Midshipman,  repaired  to  the  Mediterranean,  the  American 
Naval  School. 

The  correct  discernment  of  Com.  Preble  selected  him 
as  his  confidant  and  his  secretary.  He  was  one  of  the  four 
who  landed  at  Tangier  with  him,  amidst  Moorish  hosts, 
and  accompanied  him  to  his  interview  with  the  emperor  of 
Morocco,  previously  described.  He  sailed  with  him  to 
Tripoli.  He  was  one  of  the  first  who  volunteered,  with 
Lawrence  and  Macdonough,  under  that  unequalled,  that 
universally  lamented  hero,  Decatur,  for  the  destruction  of 
the  Philadelphia  frigate.  He  was  the  first  who  gained  the 
deck  of  that  ill-fated  ship,  after  his  dauntless  leader  reached 
it.  He  was  in  the  Constitution  in  all  her  attacks  upon 
Tripoli. 

In  the  war  of  1812  with  Britain,  he  was  first  Lieutenant 
of  the  same  wonder-working  ship,  in  the  first  wonderful  es- 
cape from  a  British  squadron.     He  was  in  the  same  capaci 
ty  when  the  same  ship  sent  the  Gurriere  to  the  bottom. 

Morris  was  the  favourite  of  the  gallant  Hull,  the  favour- 
ite of  Connecticut  and  his  country.  In  the  action  with  thf 
Gurriere,  as  a  native  poet  elegantly  says, 

"  Where  virtue,  skill  and  bravery, 
With  gallant  Morris  fell ;— 


220  NAVAL  HEROES. 

That  heart  so  well  in  battle  tried 
Along  the  Moorish  shore." 

He  long  languished,  but  survived  to  advance  still  farther 
in  the  dangerous  path  to  fame. 

He  became  commander  of  the  frigate  Adams — entered 
Penobscot  bay,  (where  his  patron,  Com.  Preble  signalized 
himself  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution.)  ascended  the  Penob- 
scot river,  defended  his  ship  against  an  immense  force,  un- 
til, to  use  his  own  language,  "  he  had  no  alternative  but 
precipitate  retreat  or  captivity."  He  destroyed  his  own 
ship,  and,  with  his  noble  crew,  wandered  over  the  wilds  of 
Maine,  in  a  state  of  destitution,  to  Portland,  once  the  home 
of  the  then  sleeping  Preble,  whose  tomb  he  bedewed  with 
manly  tears.*    Morris  still  lives  ;  and  lives  the  ornament  of 

*  Although  this  volume  professedly  relates  to  the  Naval  Heroes  of 
the  Revolution,  yet,  as  Com.  Preble's  young  officers  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean acted  such  signal  parts  in  the  second  War  with  Britain,  and 
as  Capt.  Morris,  after  he  left  the  Constitution  and  took  the  command 
of  the  Adams,  had  not  the  good  fortune  again  to  meet  the  enemy  in 
equal  contest,  I  give  the  following  extract  from  his  official  letter, 
shewing  his  conduct  in  the  hour  of  disaster.  Although  overwhelmed, 
he  did  not  "  give  up  the  Ship11  to  the  enemy. — 

Boston,  September  20,  1814. 

Sir— I  have  the  honour  to  forward  a  detailed  report  of  the  circum- 
stances attending  the  destruction  of  the  United  States1  ship  Adams,  at 
Hampden,  on  the  3d  instant. 

On  the  first  instant,  at  noon,  I  received  intelligence  by  express 
that  the  enemy  with  a  force  of  sixteen  sail  were  off  the  harbour  of  Cas- 
tine.  30  miles  below  us.  This  intelligence  was  immediately  forward- 
ed to  brigadier  general  Blake,  with  a  request,  that  he  would  direct 
such  force  as  could  be  collected  to  repair  immediately  to  Hampden. 
As  our  ship,  prepared  for  heaving  down,  was  in  no  situation  to  receive 
her  armament,  our  attention  was  immediately  directed  to  the  occupa- 
tion of  such  positions  on  shore  as  would  best  enable  us  to  protect  her. 
By  great  and  unremitted  exertions,  and  the  prompt  assistance  of  all 
^he  inhabitants  in  our  immediate  vicinity,  during  the  1st  and  2d  inst. 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE. 

-.    the  navy,  the  deligltf  of  his  friends,  and  the  pride  of  his 
country.     This  brief  digression  will  be  excused  in  the  wri- 

nine  pieces  were  transported  to  a  commanding  eminence  near  the  ship 
one  to  the  place  selected  by  general  Blake  for  his  line  of  battle,  four- 
teen upon  a  wharf  commanding  the  river  below,  and  one  on  a  point 
covering  the  communication  between  our  hill  and  wharf  batteries: 
temporary  platforms  of  loose  plank  were  laid,  and  such  other  arrange- 
ments made  as  would  enable  us  to  dispute  the  passage  of  a  naval  force. 
Want  of  time  prevented  our  improving  all  the  advantages  of  our  posi- 
tion, and  we  were  compelled  to  leave  our  rear  and  flanks  to  the  de- 
fence of  the  militia  in  case  of  attack  by  land  troops.  Favoured  by  a 
fresh  breeze,  the  enemy  had  advanced  to  within  3  miles  of  our  posi- 
tion at  sunset  on  the  2d  with  the  Sylph  mounting  22,  and  Peruvian  18 
guns,  and  one  transport,  one  tender  and  ten  barges  manned  with  sea- 
men from  the  Bulwark  and  Dragon,  under  command  of  Com.  Barrie- 
Troops  were  landed  under  command  of  Col.  John,  opposite  their  ship- 
ping without  opposition,  their  number  unknown,  but  supposed  to  be 
about  350.  To  oppose  these  troops,  about  370  militia  were  then  col- 
lected, assisted  by  lieut.  Lewis  of  the  U.  S.  artillery,  who  by  a  forced 
march  had  arrived  from  Castine  with  his  detachment  of  28  men.  Ma- 
ny of  the  militia  were  without  arms,  and  most  of  them  without  any  am- 
munition, and  as  our  numbers  were  barely  sufficient  to  man  our  bat- 
teries, I  ordered  the  ship's  muskets  to  be  distributed  among  the  mili- 
tia, and  further  ordered  them  to  be  supplied  with  ammunition.  Our 
sick  were  sent  across  a  creek  with  orders  for  such  as  were  able,  to 
secure  themselves  in  the  woods  in  case  of  our  defeat.  These  arrange- 
ments were  not  concluded  until  late  on  the  evening  of  the  2d.  As 
the  wind  was  fair  for  the  enemy's  approach,  and  the  night  dark,  rainy, 
and  favourable  for  his  attempting  a  surprize,  our  men  were  compelled, 
notwithstanding  previous  fatigue,  to  remain  at  their  batteries. 

At  day-light  on  the  3d,  I  received  intelligence  from  general  Blake, 
that  he  had'been  reinforced  by  three  companies,  and  that  the  enemy 
were  then  advancing  upon  him.  A  thick  fog  concealed  their  early 
movements,  and  their  advance  of  barges  and  rocket  boats  was  not  dis- 
covered until  about  seven  o'clock.  Believing  from  their  movements 
that  they  intended  a  simultaneous  attack  by  land  and  water,  I  placed 
the  hill  battery  under  the  direction  of  my  first  lieutenant,  Wadsworth, 
assisted  by  lieutenant  Madison  and  Mr.  Rogers,  the  purser,  and  di- 
30 


222  NAVAL  HEROES. 

ter, — it  is  a  feeble  tribute  of  respect  to  a  juvenile  acquain- 
tance. 

rected  lieutenant  Watson  to  place  his  small  detachment  of  20  marines 
in  a  position  to  watch  the  movements  of  the  enemy's  main  body,  as- 
sist in  covering1  our  flank,  and  finally  to  cover  our  retreat  in  case  that 
became  necessary.  I  had  but  just  joined  the  wharf  battery  under  the 
direction  of  lieutenants  Parker  and  Beatty,  and  sailing-master  M'Cul- 
loch,  when  the  enemy's  infantry  commenced  their  attack  upon  the  mi- 
litia. The  launches  still  held  their  position  beyond  the  reach  of  our 
fire,  ready  to  improve  any  advantage  their  troops  might  obtain.  A 
Hew  minutes  only  had  elapsed  when  lieutenant  Wadsworth  informed 
me  that  our  troops  were  retreating,  and  immediately  after  that  they 
were  dispersed  and  flying  in  great  confusion.  We  had  now  no  alter- 
native but  precipitate  retreat  or  captivity.  Our  rear  and  flanks  en- 
tirely exposed,  whhout  other  means  of  defence  on  that  side  than  out 
pikes  and  cutlasses.  The  only  bridge  across  the  creek  above  us  near- 
er the  enemy  than  ourselves,  and  the  creek  only  fordable  at  low  wa- 
ter, with  the  tide  then  rising,  I  therefore  ordered  lieutenant  Wads- 
worth  to  spike  his  guns,  and  retire  across  the  bridge,  which  was  done 
in  perfect  order,  the  marines  under  lieutenant  Watson  covering  their 
rear.  Orders  were  given  at  the  same  time  to  fire  the  ship,  spike  the 
guns  of  the  lower  battery  and  join  our  companions  across  the  creek. 
Before  these  orders  were  fully  executed,  the  enemy  appeared  on  the 
hill  from  which  our  men  just  retired  and  were  exposed  to  their  fire 
for  a  short  time  while  completing  them.  Retreating  in  front  of  them 
for  about  five  hundred  yards,  we  discovered  it  impossible  to  gain  the 
bridge,  forded  the  creek,  ascended  the  opposite  bank,  and  gained  our 
companions  without  receiving  the  slightest  injury  from  the  ill-directed 
lire  of  the  enemy.  We  continued  our  retreat  towards  Bangor,  when 
we  found  and  retired  upon  a  road  leading  to  the  Kennebec,  by  a  cir- 
cuitous route  of  65  miles.  Perceiving  it  impossible  to  subsist  our  men 
in  a  body  through  a  country  almost  destitute  of  inhabitants,  they  were 
ordered  to  repair  to  Portland  as  speedily  as  they  might  be  able.  The 
entire  loss  of  all  personal  effects  rendered  us  dependant  on  the  gene- 
rosity of  the  inhabitants  between  the  Penobscot  and  Kennebec  for  sub- 
sistence—-who  most  cheerfully  and  liberally  supplied  our  wants  to  the 
utmost  extent  of  their  limited  means.  Our  warmest  thanks  are  also 
'bieto  the  inhabitants  ©f  Waterville,  Augusta  and  Hallowell,  for  their 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE. 

At  the  time  Com.  Preble  left  the  Mediterranean, —  that 
jea,  its  islands,  and  the  nations  bordering  upon  it,  had  be 

liberality  and  attention.  Our  loss  was  but  one  marine  and  one  sea 
man  made  prisoners.  That  of  the  enemy  was  estimated  at  eight  o 
ten  killed  and  from  forty  to  fifty  wounded,  principally  by  the  H',  pound 
er  under  charge  of  lieutenant  Lewis  of  the  U.  S.  Artillery. 
As  the  Constitution  was  the  favorite  ship  of  Com.  Preble  in  the  Meil 
iterranean — as  Hull  and  Morris  were  his  favourites  in  that  sea — as 
they,  in  the  same  ship,  achieved  the  first  victory  in  the  Atlantic 
against  Britain,  the  following,  amongst  the  first,  and  certainly  amongst 
the  best  Odes  and  Songs,  during  the  second  war  with  Britain,  is  offer 
ed  to  the  reader  in  this  place.  There  is  nothing  in  the  author1: 
1  Hubert  and  Ellen,"  superior  to  it. 

Britannia's  gallant  streamers 

Float  proudly  o'er  the  tide  ; 

And  fairly  wave  Columbia's  stripes. 

In  battle,  side  by  side. 

And  ne'er  did  bolder  foemen  meet, 

Where  ocean's  surges  pour. 

O'er  the  tide  now  they  ride, 

While  the  bellowing  thunders  roar. 

While  the  cannon's  fire  is  flashing  fast. 

And  the  bellowing  thunders  roar, 

When  Yankee  meets  the  Briton, 
Whose  blood  congenial  flows, 
By  Heaven  created  to  be  friends, 
By  fortune  rendered  foes  ; 
Hard  then  must  be  the  battle  fray, 
Ere  well  the  fight  is  o'er  ; 
Now  they  ride,  side  by  side, 
While  the  bellowing  thunders  roar, 
While  the  cannon's  fire  is  flashing  fast 
And  the  bellowing  thunders  roar. 

Still,  still  for  noble  England, 
Bold  Dacres'  streamers  fly  ; 
And,  for  Columbia,  gallant  Hull's, 
As  proudly  and  as  high  ; 


224  NAVAL  HEROES. 

come  the  expanded  theatre  of  his  glory.     The  ,k  Two  Si- 
cilies," with  their  two  volcanic  mountains,  iEtna  and  Ve- 

Now  louder  rings  the  battle  din, 

More  thick  the  volumes  pour, 

Still  they  ride,  side  by  side, 

While  the  bellowing  thunders  roar, 

While  the  cannon's  fire  is  flashing  fast, 

And  the  bellowing  thunders  roar. 

Why  lulls  Brittania's  thunder, 

That  waked  the  watery  war  ? 

Why  stays  the  gallant  Gurriere, 

Whose  streamer  waved  so  fair  ? 

That  streamer  drinks  the  ocean  wave  ? 

That  warrior's  fight  is  o'er  ! 

Still  they  ride,  side  by  side, 

While  Columbia's  thunders  roar, 

While  her  cannon's  fire  is  flashing  fast, 

And  her  Yankee  thunders  roar. 

Of  Bush,  the  gallant  spirit, 

Starts  from  the  reddening  wave  ; 

'  For  the  deck  it  was'  his  '  field  of  fame,' 

'  And  ocean'  is  his  '  grave.' 

The  waters  high  their  bosoms  heave, 

For  valour  now  no  more  ; 

That  in  the  clouds,  glory  shrouds, 

While  contending  thunders  roar, 

And  Victory  bears  from  Earth  to  Heaven, 

As  the  rolling  thunders  roar. 

Hark  !  'tis  the  Briton's  lee  gun  ! , 

Ne'er  bolder  warrior  kneel'd  ! 

And  ne'er  to  gallant  mariners 

Did  braver  seamen  yield. 

Proud  be  the  sires,  whose  hardy  boys 

Then  fell,  to  fight  no  more  ; 

With  the  brave,  mid  the  wave, 

When  the  cannon's  thunders  roar, 

Their  spirits  then  shall  trim  the  blast, 

And  swell  the  thunder's  roar. 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  225 

suvius,  which  disgorge  their  adamantine  contents,  in  the 
midst  of  columns  of  fire,  and  spread  desolation  around 
their  bases,  witnessed  the  approach  of  this  Christian  hero, 
with  a  dauntless  band  of  warriors  from  a  distant  Christian 
land.  Malta,  (the  ancient  Melita,)  where  Paul,  once  the 
pupil  of  Gamaliel,  and  afterwards  the  apostle  of  the  Gen- 
tiles, preached  the  gospel,  and  where  the  renowned  Knights 
of  Malta,  long  enjoyed  and  practised  their  mysterious  rites 
— Italy,  once  the  dominion  of  imperial  Rome,  which  once 
conquered  the  world  by  arms,  and  then  conquered  herself 
by  luxury — Corsica,  the  birth  place,  and  Elba  the  prison 
of  Napoleon,  the  modern  Charlemagne — Sardinia,  Genoa, 
indeed  every  country  and  island  in  that  portion  of  the 
globe,  which  did  not  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  the 
Sultan — and  even  the  Pope  of  Rome,  with  all  his  rancour- 
Vain  were  the  cheers  of  Britons, 

Their  hearts  did  vainly  swell, 

Where  virtue,  skill,  and  bravery, 

With  gallant  Morris  fell. 

That  heart,  so  well  in  battle  tried, 

Along  the  Moorish  shore, 

Again,  o'er  the  main, 

When  Columbia's  thunders  roar, 

Shall  prove  its  Yankee  spirit  true, 
/  When  Columbia's  thunders  roar. 

Hence  be  our  floating  bulwarks, 
Those  oaks  our  mountains  yield  ; 
'Tis  mighty  Heaven's  plain  decree — 
Then  take  the  watery  field  ! 
To  ocean's  farthest  barrier  then, 
Your  whitening  sails  shall  pour ; 
Safe  they'll  ride  o'er  the  tide, 
While  Columbia's  thunders  roar, 
While  her  cannon's  fire  is  flashing  fast. 
\nd  her  Yankee  thunders  roar. 


226  NAVAL  HEROES. 

ous  bitterness  against  Protectants,  all,  all  joined  their  notes 
of  praise,  in  one  harmonious  concord  of  applause  and  ad- 
miration, for  the  peerless  Hero,  from  the  Republic  of  the 
Western  World. 

The  Pope,  the  supreme  head  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
regime,  forcibly  declared  that — "  All  Christendom  had  not 
effected  in  centuries,  what  the  American  Squadron  had 
accomplished  in  the  space  of  a  single  year  !" 

Even  British  naval  officers,  whose  tutelary  deity  upon 
the  ocean,  (Lord  Nelson,)  declared  that  "  In  the  germe  of 
the  American  Navy,  he  saw  the  future  rival  of  Britain  upon 
the  ocean" — suspended,  for  awhile,  their  deep-rooted  jeal- 
ousy, and  poured  forth  the  effusions  of  involuntary  admira 
tion  for  Preble. 

Grateful  as  such  applause  undoubtedly  was  to  such  an 
aspiring  mind  as  his,  no  approbation  came  so  "  home  to 
his  business  and  bosom"  as  the  unqualified  demonstration 
of  attachment  from  his  own  Comrades — his  own  Govern- 
ment, and  his  own  Family. 

Such  approbation  from  such  sources,  must  have  filled 
his  capacious  heart  to  repletion.  The  value  of  praise  is 
doubly  enhanced,  when  it  proceeds  from  those  whose  ex- 
alted merit  deserves  the  praise  they  bestow.  Like  "  the 
quality  of  mercy" 

"  It  is  twice  blessed — it  blesseth  him, 
"  Who  gives,  and  who  receives." 

The  Congress  of  the  United  States,  the  only  legitimate 
government  in  existence,  presiding  over  the  only  Repub- 
lic upon  earth,  deeply  penetrated  with  the  exalted  worth, 
and  vast  services  of  "  The  Commander  in  Chief  of  the 
American  Squadron  in  the  Mediterranean  in  1803  and 
1 804,"  bestowed  upon  Edward  Preble,  a  Vote  of  Thanks 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  227 

a  reward  more  grateful  to  the  feelings  of  that  noble  offi- 
rer,  considering  the  moving  cause  of  it,  than  would  have 
been  an  estate  equal  to  the  dukedom  bestowed  upon  Arthin 
Wellesley,  by  the  Parliament  of  Britain. 

As  a  visible  token  of  the  regard  of  that  august  body,  the 
Congress  voted  a  splendid  gold  medal,  with  devices  em- 
blematical of  his  achievements. 

This  was  presented  by  the  same  hand  that  drafted  that 
unequalled  state  paper  "  The  Declaration  of  American 
Independence" — by  the  same  statesman  who  selected  Pre- 
ble, as  Commander — then  President  of  the  American  Re 
public,  now  the  Philosopher  of  Monticello — Thomas  Jef- 
ferson. This  portable  monument  of  his  fame  is  now,  with 
the  other  archives  of  this  ocean-hero,  in  the  hands  of  his 
posterity — an  invaluable  legacy — a  treasure  of  fame  ! 

His  family  and  his  countrymen,  when  he  was  "  far  away 
over  the  billow,"  cast  their  anxious  thoughts  to  the  sangui- 
nary arena  in  which  he  and  his  comrades  were  contending 
with  the  thickening  hosts  of  Mahometans. 

When  the  Turkish  Crescent  bowed  to  the  "  Star-span- 
gled banner"  of  the  Republic,  and  he  returned  with  his 
rich  harvest  of  honours,  the  elder  portion  of  Americans  re- 
membered the  gallant  Lieutenant  Preble,  in  the  war  of  the 
Revolution,  when  in  the  Protector  he  assisted  in  capturing 
the  Admiral  Duff,  and  led  in  capturing  a  heavy  ship  of  war 
in  Penobscot  bay,  when  he  sailed  in  the  Winthrop. 

The  younger  Americans,  with  the  writer,  enthusiastical- 
ly recognized  in  him  the  redeeming  spirit  who  rescued  our 
countrymen  from  Mahometan  bondage  ;  and  compelled  a 
strong  power,  under  the  Grand  Sultan,  to  submit  to  Ameri- 
can prowess. 

He  might  well  have  wished,  at  this  time  to  retire  into  the 


228  NAVAL  HEROES. 

bosom  of  his  family,  at  his  delightful  residence  in  the  capi- 
tal of  Maine  ;  but  he  had  become  identified  with  the  Amer- 
ican navy,  and  its  future  respectability  depended  essential- 
ly upon  the  application  of  the  skill  and  experience  of  the 
Commodore  to  its  future  operations. 

Although  considerable  experience,  as  well  as  man) 
splendid  victories  were  gained  in  the  naval  warfare  with 
the  French  Republic,  a  few  years  previous,  and  many 
and  much  of  each  under  his  command  in  the  Mediterra- 
nean, yet  the  complicated  system,  requisite  in  the  Navy 
Department,  was  by  no  means  thoroughly  digested. 

The  admirable  police,  which  is  now  systematized  on 
board  74s,  44s,  36s,  sloops  of  war,  brigs,  and  schooners, 
was  then  in  an  incipient  state — it  has  ever  since  been  pro- 
gressive, and  it  may  now  almost  be  said,  that  it  is  perfected. 

Com.  Preble  had,  at  the  seat  of  government,  the  collec- 
ted wisdom  of  naval  officers,  and  the  heads  of  the  different 
departments,  to  aid  him  in  putting  the  "  American  Naval 
System"  into  operation. 

If  it  required  the  wisdom  and  penetration  of  Oliver 
Ellsworth*  to  arrange  and  digest  the  Judiciary  System— 
if  it  required  the  stupendous  mind  of  Alexander  Hamil- 
ton, from  a  chaotic  mass,  to  perfect  a  System  of  Finance- 
it  also  required  the  scientific  and  practical  knowledge  of 
Edward  Preble  to  arrange  a  Naval  System,  for  the  marine 
force  of  the  Republic. 

*  The  profound  discernment  of  President  Washington,  and  the 
First  Congress  under  the  Constitution,  selected  this  exalted  man 
and  great  jurist,  to  digest  the  Judiciary  System  of  our  vast  Republic, 
consisting  then  of  thirteen,  and  now  of  twenty-four  distinct  govern- 
ments. It  was  a  subject  full  of  importance,  and  abounding  in  difficul- 
ty.    To  give  sufficient  energy  to  a  Federal  court,  and  yet  to  secure 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  229 

His  time  at  the  scat  of  government  was  not  wasted  by  en- 
joying the  fashionable  blandishments  of  the  metropolis,  in 
the  "  piping  time  of  peace  ;"  and  although  he  had  recent- 
ly returned  from  '  attempting  the  imminent  deadly  breach,' 
he  was  in  no  danger  of  being  effeminated  by  "listening  to 
the  soft  lulling  of  the  lute."  He  was  not  one  of  those 
courtly  retainers  who  make  an  accessary  of  the  languishing 
genius  of  evanescent  amusement,  in  the  murder  of  time, 
the  most  bounteous  gift  of  heaven.  With  Preble,  as  with 
Franklin,  '  time  was  money  ;'  yea  it  was  more  than  money 
— '  money  is  trash,'  in  comparison  to  the  invaluable  results 
of  patient  study,  sound  reflection,  and  matured  wisdom. 

The  American  people  employ  their  civil  Rulers,  as  well 
as  their  Naval  officers,  to  act,  and  to  act  efficiently.  The 
aggregated  wisdom  of  the  Republic  is  not  annually  concen- 
trated at  the  seat  of  government  to  convert  and  pervert  the 
season  of  legislation  into  an  endless  succession  of  'holi- 
days,' excursions  of  pleasure,  or  intrigues  for  office.* 

the  rights  of  indiviual  State  Courts,  was  a  vast  undertaking  ;  and  was 
accomplished  by  the  vastness  of  this  great  man's  mind.  Oliver  Ells- 
worth succeeded  Chief  Justice  Jay  when  he  was  appointed  ambassa- 
dor to  the  Court  of  St.  James;  and  continued  Chief  Justice  himself 
until  he  was  appointed  ambassador  to  the  Court  of  St.  Cloud. 

*  The  following  is  an  extract  Yrom  a  very  recent  publication  ;  and 
is  inserted  in  a  note  to  excuse  the  presumption  of  the  text. 

"  Is  it  for  this  that  the  people  of  the  nation  send  representatives  to, 
Washington,  and  pay  each  of  them  $56  a  week  ?  Is  it  to  spend  their 
nights  in  revelry,  and  their  days  in  slumber,  that  they  have  been  sent 
there  ?  Is  it  to  enable  the  higher  officers  of  the  government  "  to  feed 
and  plaister,"  to  corrupt  and  prostitute  their  representatives,  that  they 
have  suffered  the  late  great  increase  of  their  salaries  to  pass  almost 
unnoticed  ?  If  this  apathy  is  continued,  they  will  only  merit  the  politi- 
cal degradation  and  perdition  which  infallibly  awaits  them." 

31 


230  NAVAL  HEROES. 

The  assiduity  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  the  Navy 
Commissioners,  and  Naval  Officers,  is  a  shining  light  that 
points  out  the  path  of  duty  to  every  officer  in  every  station, 
in  every  department  of  the  government. 

Com.  Preble  remained  at  the  seat  of  government  until 
peace  was  negotiated  by  Mr.  Lear,  which  he  had  conquer- 
ed with  the  American  squadron.  Com.  Barron  returned  with 
the  constellation  of  ocean- warriors  who  subjugated  Tripo- 
li when  under  Preble.  Gen.  Eaton,  with  Hamet  Cara- 
malli,  ex- Bashaw,  whom  he  found  an  exile  in  Egypt — whose 
dying  hopes  he  revived,  and  whose  motley  multitude  call- 
ed an  army,  he  conducted  through  desarts  to  within  a  few 
leagues  of  Tripoli,  also  returned  to  America,  to  reap  the 
reward  of  his  well-meant,  romuntic,and  daring  endeavours,* 
and  also  to  induce  the  government  to  pay  the  disheartened 
Caramalli  for  the  loss  of  his  throne,  and  the  disappoint- 
ment of  his  wishes.  It  is  believed  that  this  is  the  first  and 
only  instance  of  a  Mahometan  prince  begging  money  of  a 
Christian  power — they  have,  for  centuries,  obtained  it  by 
blood  and  plunder. 

Com.  Preble,  cool,  collected,  dignified,  and  gratified, 
lived  to  behold  the  consummation  of  the  first  wishes  of  his 
heart---the  subjugation  of  the  Barbary  powers,  and  the  re- 
storation of  the  noble  Bainbridge,!  his  gallant  officers,  and 
fearless  crew,  and  the  rest  of  the  Americans,  from  dismal 
bondage,  to  the  fruition  of  freedom. 

He  cared  little  for  the  scramble  for  office,  promotion,  or 
money.     He  saw  the  happy  result  of  his  toils  for  his  coun- 

*  Gen.  Eaton,  in  his  letter  of  Dec.  5,  1805,  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  says—"  Mr.  O'Bannon  and  myself  united  in  a  resolution  to  pe- 

f  Amongst  the  returning  heroes,  who  received  the  congratulation  of 
Corn.  Preble — the  delivered  heroes,  Bainbridge,  Jones,  Porter, 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  231 

try.  He  saw  his  gallant  comrades  in  the  Mediterranean, 
once  more  in  the  bosom  of  the  Republic,  enjoying  the  peace 
they  had  obtained  by  valour  -the  blessings  they  had  ren- 
dered secure  by  their  victories,  and  the  applause  they  so 
richly  deserved  for  their  unparalleled  services. 

He  retired  from  public  life,  like  Washington,  the  father 
of  his  country — like  Adams,  the  father  of  the  American 
navy-— and  like  Jefferson,  his  patron  and  friend,  and  the 
patron  of  the  Republic,  to  enjoy  the  sweets  of  retirement 
in  the  bosom  of  his  family,  in  his  native  town,  where  every 
temporal  blessing  awaited  his  return. 

There,  with  a  consciousness  of  having  faithfully  served 
his  country  in  that  tremendous  contest,  "  The  War  of  the 
Revolution,"  against  Britain,  in  a  subordinate  station — 
having  assisted  in  chastising  Frenchmen — having  awed  the 
Emperor  of  Morocco  into  a  peace,  and  having  fought  the 

rish  with  him  [Caramalli]  before  the  walls  of  Tripoli,  or  to  triumph 
with  him  within  those  walls."  "  I  have"  said  a  British  Peer  "  reso- 
lutions to  make  resolutions,  if  I  cannot  keep  them." 

Biddle,  and  their  gallant  crew,  once  of  the  unfortunate  Philadelphia 
Frigate,  after  a  dismal  bondage  of  nineteen  months,  must  have  poured 
out  the  undissembled  gratitude  of  hearts,  glowing  with  feelings,  unap- 
preciated by  the  luxurious,  and  effeminate  sons  of  indolent  security. 
Their  feelings  are  thus  painted  by  an  anonymous  poet,  who  unites,  in 
these  lines,  two  of  the  fine  arts,  poetry  and  painting. 

The  dawn  through  my  grates  the  thick  darkness  dissolves, 

And  again  the  huge  bolt  of  my  dungeon  revolves  ; 

That  monster's  dread  step  is  a  prelude  to  pains, 

When  the  lash  that  he  bears  will  drink  blood  from  my  veins. 

Hark !  what  notes  of  sweet  music  !  they  thrill  through  my  soul : 

Columbia's  own  strain  is  that  soft  melting  roll ! 

Gracious  Heav'n  !  my  dear  countrymen  once  more  I  view. 

Hail  Liberty's  banner !  ve  base  tyrants  adieu. 


232  NAVAL  HEROES. 

blood-stained  Bashaw  of  Tripoli  into  subjugation,  he  enjoy- 
ed that  repose  of  body  which  toils,  privations,  long  service 
and  sanguinary  batties  had  rendered  necessary;  and  that 
tranquillity  of  mind  which  conscious  virtue,  rectitude  and 
honour,  rendered  sweet  and  felicitous. 

But  these  enjoyments  were  hardly  began  before  they 
were  to  be  ended.  Death,  which  he  had  so  often  undaunt- 
edly faced  in  the  most  appalling  forms,  removed  him  from 
the  scene  of  his  temporal,  to  that  of  his  eternal  glory  upon 
the  25th  day  of  August,  1807 — just  three  years  from  the 
memorable  month  of  August  in  which  he  conquered  a  pow- 
erful nation  of  Barbary. 

Like  his  beloved  comrades  in  that  warfare,  Stephen  De- 
catur, and  James  Lawrence,  he  died  in  the  meridian  of 
life,  being  but  forty-six  years  of  age. 

CHARACTER  OF  EDWARD  PREBLE. 

Edward  Preble,  possessed  peculiar  native  powers — 
those  which  the  heroes  of  antiquity  most  craved — a  sound 
mind,  in  a  sound  body.  So  far  as  countenance  is  an  index 
of  mind,  his  indicated  decision  of  character.  It  also  indi- 
cated benignity  of  heart,  and  generosity  of  feelings.  His 
person  was  tall  and  commanding ;  his  posture  erect  ;  his 
movement  natural  and  unaffected.  His  whole  presence 
pointed  him  out  as  a  "  mighty  man  of  war."*  As  to  the 
qualities  of  his  mind,  the  prominent  traits  were  a  restless 

Wy  wrongs  are  all  cancelled — your  shore  is  receding — 
My  country  has  freed  me,  ray  heart  has  ceas'd  bleeding  ; 
In  the  arms  of  affection  I  soon  shall  be  bless'd, 
And  my  dust  with  the  dust  of  my  fathers  shall  rest. 

*  "  That  form  indeed,  th'  associate  of  a  mind- 
Vast  in  its  pow'rs — etherial  in  its  kind, 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  J33 

emulation,  and  an  inquietude  for  enterprise.  For  listless 
indolence  and  effeminating  inaction,  he  manifested  the  most 
sovereign  contempt  and  contemptuous  pity.  Not  satisfied 
with  achieving  deeds  of  common  renown,  he  aspired  to 
those  which  would  leave  previous  examples  of  noble  daring 
far  behind  him.  Possessing  by  nature  a  high-minded  sense 
of  independence,  he  espoused  the  cause  of  his  country 
when  imperious  Britain  was  attempting  to  subjugate  hi? 
countrymen  to  vassalage.     Although  then  but  a  youth, 

"  He  gave  the  world  assurance  of  the  man." 
Returning  to  the  peaceful  pursuit  of  commerce,  he  placed 
himself  and  his  family  in  independent  circumstances.  Ev- 
er ready  to  avenge  the  injuries  of  the  Republic,  from  what- 
ever quarter  of  the  world  they  should  proceed,  he  repair- 
ed as  Commander  in  Chief  to  the  renowned  Mediterranean. 
France,  Spain,  Italy,  Naples,  and  Genoa,  upon  the  borders 
of  that  sea. — Sardinia,  Sicily,  Corsica,  Minorca,  and  Mal- 
ta, islands  in  its  bosom,  witnessed  with  astonishment  and 
admiration  the  approach  of  this  Christian  hero  from  the 
Christian  Republic.  To  the  people  of  these  regions,  as 
well  as  to  his  own  countrymen,  who  were  exposed  to  Tur- 
kish capture  and  bondage,  he  was  a  ministering  angel  of 
protection  and  redemption.  But,  to  the  merciless  disci- 
ples of  Mahomet,  he  was  a  minister  of  wrath,  armed  with 
stores  of  vengeance,  to  avenge  the  barbarous  cruelties  for 
centuries  inflicted  upon  unoffending  Christians.  The  vol- 
canoes of  Vesuvius  and  iEtna  excited  but  little  more  con- 
That  form-  -the  labour  of  Almighty  skill, 
Fram'd  for  the  service  of  a  freeborn  will, 
Asserts  precedence,  and  bespeaks  control, 
But  borrows  all  its  grandeur  from  the  soul." 

Cowpek. 


234  NAVAL  HEROEfe. 

sternation  with  exposed  Neapolitans  and  Sicilians,  than  did 
the  gleaming  messengers  of  death,  "red  with  uncommon 
wrath,"  hurled  by  the  American  Preble,  into  the  capital  of 
the  Tripoiitans.  Maliometans  were  subjugated  by  him  and 
his  dauntless  band,  and  the  Turkish  Crescent  fell  beneath 
the  American  Banner.  The  veteran  finished  his  work  in 
the  Eastern  World,  and  returned  to  the  enjoyment  of  civil 
liberty  and  religious  freedom,  amongst  his  redeemed,  pro- 
tected, and  happy  countrymen  in  the  Western  World.  He 
died,  as  a  hero  would  wish  to  die,  before  the  ravages  of 
time  had  debilitated  his  body  or  deteriorated  his  mind. 
Never  having  been  humbled  by  a  mortal  enemy,  he  yield- 
ed all  of  himself  that  was  mortal  to  the  King  of  Terrors,  and 
gave  his  body  to  the  tomb — 

"  Till  mould'ring  worlds  and  tumbling  systems  burst, 

"  Till  the  last  trump  shall  renovate  the  dust." 
His  exalted  soul  he  gave  to  that  God  who  gave  it  to  him, 
and  he  bequeathed  his  temporal   glory   to  the  Republic  ; 
and  if  that  Republic  hath  not  yet  raised  a  monument*  to  his 

*  It  would  be  gratifying  to  learn  how  much  money  has  been  drawn 
from  the  National  Treasury,  to  erect  Mausoleums,  Monuments,  Sta- 
tues, &c.  to  Revolutionary  Heroes.  Soon  after  the  death  of  Gen. 
Washington,  a  resolution  was  passed  in  Congress  on  the  subject.  In 
1818,  the  following  was  found  in  the  Congressional  Journal : 

"  The  joint  resolution  for  a  monument  over  the  remains  of  General 
Washington,  and  some  minor  business,  was  postponed  to  Monday." 

In  1818,  the  following  notice  concerning  the  "  Washington  Monu- 
ment Association"  was  published : 

"  Boston,  Nov.  25.  We  learn  that  the  Trustees  of  the  Washington 
Monument  Association,  through  the  Agency  of  our  countrymen, 
Messrs.  West,  Allston,  and  Samuel  Williams  of  London,  have  engaged 
the  celebrated  sculptor,  Chantry,  to  form  a  Pedestrian  Statue  of 
George  Washington,  and  that  some  progress  has  been  made  in  the 
execution." 

The  elegant  monument  in  Portland,  to  the  memory  of  Capt.  Bur- 
rows, was  erected  by  the  patriotic  munificence  of  Matthew  L.  Davis. 
Esq.  of  New- York. 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  235 

memory,  he  hath  a  living  monument  in  the  heart  of  every 
surviving  Naval  Oflicerand  Seaman,  who  knew  his  virtues, 
appreciated  his  worth,  and  emulated  his  valour.  But  as 
the  government  of  the  American  Republic,  in  the  plenitude 
of  its  gratitude,  has  seen  fit  to  draw  from  its  treasury  the 
small  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars  to  erect  a  monument  to 
the  memory  of  Elbridge  Gerry  ;  it  may  hereafter  remem- 
ber the  Father  of  the  Modern  Sons  of  the  American  Navy  ; 
and  future  generations  will  behold  a  monument  erected  to 
his  glory,  and  his  glory  shining  in  the  monument. 


REGISTER 

Of  American  Naval  Officers  in  the  Mediterranean,   in  the 
years  1803  and  1804,  under 

COMMODORE  PREBLE; 

In  presenting  this  Catalogue  of  Officers  to  the  reader  it 
is  impossible  to  repress  the  feelings  of  admiration  with 
which  the  mind  of  every  patriotic  American  must  be  pene- 
trated. In  retrospect,  we  behold  the  little  infant  navy  of 
our  infant  Republic,  in  that  renowned  sea  where  the  marine 
of  ancient  Carthage,  spread  dismay  and  consternation  upon 
the  borders  of  the  three  great  continents,  whose  shores  are 
laved  by  its  waters.  In  that  sea  where  the  Grecians  gain- 
ed their  naval  renown.  In  that  sea  where  Cleopatra  waft- 
ed in  her  barge,  and  captivated  Antony. 

It  would  be  invidious  to  make  a  selection  from  this  con- 
stellation of  ocean  heroes,  who  entered  the  dangerous  path 
of  glory  with  the  immortalized  Preble — some  of  whom 
have  followed  him  from  temporal  warfare  to  eternal  peace 
-from  a  life  of  glory  on  earth  to  immortal  honours  in 


236  COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE. 

heaven.  Saying  nothing  of  the  Commanders,  Rodger*. 
Bainbridge,  Stewart,  Hull,  Smith  Somers,*  and  Decatur,* 
we  find  among  the  Lieutenants, — Gordon,  Dent,  Jones, 
Porter,  Trippe,  Crane,  Read,  J.  B.  Decatur,*  Lawrence,* 
and  J.  Bainbridge.  Amongst  Midshipmen,  Burrows,* 
Morris,  Nicholson,  Gadsden,  Wadsworth,*  Israel,*  Ridge- 
ley,  Henley,  Patterson,  Mead,  Macdonough,  Gamble,  Ren- 
shaw,  Spence,  Pettigrew,  Warrington,  Ballard,  Cassin, 
Thompson,  &c.  These  then  ardent  youth  were  unknown 
to  fame — their  names  are  now  inscribed  in  its  temple,  and 
their  glory  is  identified  with  that  of  the  Republic.  Their 
monuments  will  hereafter  rise  in  various  parts  of  our  vast 
Republic,  and  consecrate  the  places  where  the  naval  he- 
roes rest. 

It  is  however,  ungenerous,  unjust — to  bestow  all  our  ap- 
plause upon  the  fortunate  heroes  whose  destiny  enabled 
them  to  signalize  themselves  by  some  glorious  achieve- 
ments. Their  associates,  equally  gallant,  equally  skilful, 
equally  meritorious,  are  too  often  obscured  by  the  halo  of 
glory  that  shines  around  their  companions.  Had  not  Gib- 
bon, perished  in  the  flaming  theatre  of  Richmond,  he  might 
have  acted  as  glorious  a  part  on  the  theatre  of  naval  glory, 
as  his  brother  midshipmen,  Morris,  Biddle,  Macdonough, 
Burrows,  Warrington,  etc.  As  the  meed  of  praise  is  the 
highest  reward  of  a  hero,  it  ought  to  be  bestowed  with  im- 
partiality. 

In  page  162  of  this  volume,  a  List  of  Ships  and  Com- 
manders of  Com.  Preble's  S  juadron  is  inserted.  It  was 
all  the  information  the  writer  had  when  he  drove  through 
this  imperfect  Sketch  of  Com.  Prebie's  life. 

*  Dead  ! 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  i37 

Since  it  was  written,  the  very  obliging  and  ever  atten- 
tive Secretary  of  the  Navy,  has  furnished  me  with  the  fol- 
lowing "  Official  List." 

Officers  attached  to  the  Squadron  under  Com.  Edward 
Preble  in  the  Mediterranean  in  1803,  &c. 

Constitution  frigate ,  Edward  Preble,  Commodore. 
John  Rodgers,  Captain. 
Lieutenants. 
Thomas  Robinson,  Jun.         Samuel  Elbert. 
William  C.  Jenckes,  Charles  Gordon. 

Joseph  Tarbell,  John  H.  Dent. 

Nathaniel  Harriden,  Sailing  Master. 

James  Wells,  Surgeon. 

Thomas  Marshall,  Surgeon's  mate. 

Patrick  Sim,  do. 

James  S.  Deblois,  Purser. 

Noadiah  Morris,  chaplain. 

Jonathan  N.  Cannon,  Boatswain. 

William  Sweeny,  Gunner. 

Isaac  Steel,  Sail  Maker. 

Thomas  Moore/Carpenter. 

Midshipmen. 

Hethcote  J.  Reed,  Ralph  Izard,  Jun. 

David  Deacon.  William  Burrows, 

John  Rowe,  Daniel  S.  Dexter, 

Thomas  Hunt,  Charles  Morris, 

John  M.  Haswell,  John  Davis, 

Alexander  Laus,  Francis  C.  Hall, 

Thomas  Baldwin,  Leonard  J.  Hunewell, 

Joseph  Nicholson,  Louis  Alexis, 

Charles  Gadsden,  Jun.  Henry  Wadsworth, 

Charles  G.  Ridgely,  Henry  P.  Casey. 

32 


238  NAVAL  HEROES. 

Joseph  Israel.  William  Lewis, 

John  Thompson,  Robert  Henley. 

John  Hall,  Captain  of  marines, 
Robert  Greenleaf,  1st  Lieut. 
Philadelphia  frigate,  William  Bainbridge.  Commander. 
Lieutenants. 
John  S.  H.  Cox,  Jacob  Jones, 

Theodore  Hunt,  Benjamin  Smith, 

David  Porter. 

William  Knight,  Sailing  Master. 
John  Ridgely,  Surgeon. 
Jonathan  Cowdery,  Surgeon's  mate. 
Nicholas  Harwood,  do. 

Keith  Spence,  Purser. 
George  Hodge,  Boatswain. 
Richard  Stephenson,  Gunner. 
William  Godb),  Carpenter. 
Joseph  Douglass,  Sail- maker. 
Midshipmen. 
James  Gibbon,  Daniel  T.  Patterson,    . 

Benjamin  F.  Read,  Thomas  Macdonough. 

James  Biddle,  Bernard  Henry, 

Wallace  Wormeley,  William  Cutbush, 

Simon  Smith,  Robert  Gamble, 

Richard  B.  Jones,  James  Renshaw. 

William  S.  Osborne,  1st  Lieut,  of  Marines. 
Brig  Syren,  Charles  Stewart,  Captain - 
Lieutenants. 
James  R.  Caldwell,  Michael  B.  Carroll, 

Joseph  J.  Maxwell. 

Samuel  R.  Marshall,  Surgeon. 
Alexander  C.  Harrison,  Sailing  Master. 


COM.   EDWARD  PREBLE.  !  * 

Nathan  Baker,  Purser. 
John  Unsworth,  Boatswain. 
James  Welman,  Gunner. 
John  Felt,  Carpenter. 
Thomas  Crippen,  Sail  maker. 
Midshipmen. 
Thomas  O.  Anderson.  Robert  T.  Spence. 

John  Dorsey,  Cornelius  de  Krafft. 

William  R.  Nicholson. 

John  Howard,  1st  Lieut.  Marines. 

Brig  Argus,  Isaac  Hull,  Captain. 
Lieutenants. 
Joshua  Blake,  William  M.  Livingston, 

Sybrant  Van  Schaick. 

Humphrey  Magrath,  acting  sailing  master. 
Nathaniel  T.  Weems,  Surgeon. 
John  W.  Dorsey,  Surgeon's  mate. 
Timothy  Winn,  Purser. 
George  Nicholson,  Boatswain. 
William  Huntress,  Gunner. 
Stephen  Hurley,  Carpenter. 
Charles  Smith,  Sail-maker. 
Midshipmen. 
Joseph  Bainbridge,  Samuel  G.  Blodget. 

George  Mann,  William  G.  Stewart, 

Pascal  Paoli  Peck,  John  Pettigrew. 

John  Johnson,  1st  Lieutenant  marines. 

Schooner  Vixen,  John  Smith,  Commander. 

Acting  Lieutenants. 

John  Trippe,  William  Crane, 

Richard  Butler,  Sailing  master. 

Michael  Graham,  Surgeon. 


240  NAVAL  HEROES. 

Clement  S.  Hunt,  Purser. 
John  Clarke,  Boatswain. 
James  Bailey,  Gunner. 
Bartholomew  M'Henry,  Carpenter. 
Joshua  Herbert,  Sail-maker. 
Midshipmen. 
John  D.  Henley,  Lewis  Warrington, 

William  Ballard,  John  Nevitt, 

John  Lyon. 

Schooner  Nautilus,  Richard  Somers,  Commander. 
Lieutenants. 
James  B.  Decatur,         George  W.  Read. 
Edward  N.  Cox,  Acting  Sailing-master. 
Gershom  R.  Jacques,  Acting  Surgeon. 
James  Tootell,  Purser. 
Charles  Walker,  Boatswain. 
James  Pinkerton,  Gunner. 
Robert  Fell,  Carpenter. 
Midshipmen. 
Octavius  A.  Page,  Stephen  Cassin, 

George  Marcellin,  William  Miller, 

Charles  C.  B.  Thompson. 
Schooner  Enterprise,  Stephen  Decatur,  Jr.  Commander, 
Acting  Lieutenants. 
James  Lawrence,  Daniel  C.  Heath, 

Jonathan  Thorn,  Joseph  Bainbridge, 

Seth  Cartee. 

William  Rogers,  Acting  Surgeon, 
Alexander  M'Williams,  Surgeon's  mate. 
Mr.  Bearry,  Boatswain. 
William  Hook,  Gunner. 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  2A1 

Mr.  West,  Carpenter. 
Patrick  Keogh,  Sail- maker. 

Midshipmen. 

Daniel  C.  Sim,  George  Mitchell, 

Walter  Boyd,  Robert  Innes, 

Benjamin  Turner. 

Samuel  Slewellyn,  1st  Lieutenant  of  marines. 

The  very  names  of  the  vessels  composing  this  little  squad- 
ron, have  become  familiar  with  Americans,  for  their 
achievements  in  the  Mediterranean  under  Com.  Preble, 
in  the  war  against  Tripoli  ;  and  on  the  Atlantic,  in  the 
second  war  with  Britain. 

The  Constitution  bore  the  broad  pendant  of  Preble  in 
all  the  victories  of  the  squadron  in  the  Mediterranean.  In 
the  Atlantic,  commanded  by  Hull,  she  astonished  British 
officers  in  escaping  from  a  British  squadron.  Commanded 
by  the  same  officer,  she  sent  the  boasting  Guerriere  to  the 
bottom;  commanded  by  Bainbridge,  she  compelled  the 
Java  to  submit  to  the  same  fate,  and  commanded  by  Stew- 
art, in  one  action,  added  the  Cyane  and  Levant,  to  the 
American  navy. 

The  Philadelphia,  was  conquered  only  by  hidden  rocks, 
and  a  foe,  with  hearts  harder  than  rocks,  who  dared  not 
point  a  gun  at  her  while  wafting.  But  her  loss  to  America 
was  retrieved  by  Decatur,  in  destroying  her  under  the 
tremendous  batteries  of  Tripoli,  in  the  midst  of  her  ma- 
rine. 

The  Syren,  commanded  by  the  ever  vigilant  and  intrepid 
Stewart,  was  constantly  in  the  station  of  duty  and  of  dan- 
ger. She  accompanied  the  Intrepid  to  the  bay  of  Tripoli, 
and  witnessed  the  destruction  of  the  Philadelphia.     Her 


242  iNAVAL  HEROES. 

language,  unlike  the  fabled  Syren,  was  more  calculated  to 
alarm  than  to  allure. — While  commanded  by  the  accom- 
plished Nicholson  she  fell  before  a  "hell  of  England." 

The  Argus,  commanded  by  Hull,  acted  well  her  part  in 
the  Mediterranean  ;  and,  commanded  by  Allen  in  the 
war  with  Britain,  spread  dismay  upon  her  coast — swept  her 
commerce  from  her  very  harbours  ;  and  when  she  fell  be- 
fore superior  force,  was  deemed  a  trophy,  and  her  com- 
mander who  fell  gloriously,  was 

"  By  strangers  honour'dand  by  strangers  mourn'd." 

The  Vixen,  was  a  terror  to  Tripolitans,  and  in  the  war 
with  Britain,  fell  a  victim  to  the  elements  in  company  with 
a  British  Frigate,  commanded  by  the  modern  pride  of  Bri- 
tain, James  Lucas  Yeo,  who  publickly  thanked  the  gallant 
Reed  and  his  crew  for  their  gallant  courage  as  enemies, 
and  magnanimity  as  friends. 

The  Nautilus,  was  the  favourite  of  the  seas.  She  me- 
naced Tangier,  in  Morocco — Tripoli  on  the  Barbary  coast 
— and  her  nautical  skill  extorted  admiration,  from  a  Bri- 
tish Commodore  when  she  fell  into  his  hands,  and  who  re- 
turned the  gallant  Crane  his  sword  for  his  masterly  exer- 
tions to  save  this  ship. 

The  Enterprise,*  ("  who  can  tell  her  deeds")  has  be- 
come the  most  renowned  schooner  upon  the  ocean.  In 
the  hands  of  Sterrett  she  battered  a  Barbarian  corsair  to 
pieces — Commanded  by  Decatur  she  captured  the  won- 
derful little  Intrepid — Commanded  by  the  lamented  Bur- 

*  This  fine  craft  was  wrecked  and  lost  in  July,  1823  ;  so  that  there 
is  not  now,  in  the  American  Navy,  a  single  keel  of  this  renowned 
squadron,  but  the  Constitution  ("  Old  Iron-Sides.")  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  she  may  never  be  sent  to  sea  again,  lest  the  elements  should 
destroy,  what  enemies  never  could  catch  or  capture. 


COM.  EDWARD  PREBLE.  243 

rows,  she  captured  the  Boxer — and  with  the  frigate  Con- 
stitution, is  still  the  pride  of  Americans. 

As  if  the  whole  of  these  vessels,  possessed  an  "inani- 
mate ardor,"  corresponding  with  the  animated  heroism  of 
their  commanders,  they  became  renowned  for  conquests, 
and  seemed  to  extort  smiles  from  the  genius  of  victory  in 
the  hour  of  disaster. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

OF 

ALEXANDER  MURRAY, 

CAPTAIN  IN  THE  ARMY  AND  IN  THE  NAVY 

IN  THE  WAR  OF  THE  REVOLUTION; 

POST  CAPTAIN    IN    THE    NAVAL    WARFARE    BETWEEN    THE 
AMERICAN  REPUBLIC  AND  FRANCE  ; 

OOMMODORE  OF  AN  AMERICAN  SQUADRON   IN   THE  AVAR    WITH 
TRIPOLI, 


COMMANDANT  OF  AN  AMERICAN  NAVY   YARD. 

Biographical  writers,  and  subjects  of  Biography.. ..Alexander  Mur 
ray's  birth. ...a  lineal  descendant  of  the  Highland  chief,  Murray  of 
Elginshire,  who  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Pretender  in  the  Rebel- 
lion of  1715,  who  was  banished  to  Barbadoes,  and  his  estates  confis- 
cated.... Houses  of  Tudor,  Stuart,  and  Brunswick... .The  grandfath- 
er a  Scotch  Rebel,  the  grandson  an  American  Revolutionist.... Dr. 
Murray,  Alexander's  father.... Alexander,  the  youngest  son.. ..His 
education,. ..Commencement  of  his  nautical  life.. .. His  highminded 
sentiments.. ..William  Murray,  Earl  of  Mansfield.... Alexander,  ap- 
pointed a  Lieutenant  in  the  Navy,  by  the  Old  Congress.... for  want 
of  a  ship,  enters  Col.  Smallwood's  regiment  as  Lieutenant  in  the  ar- 
my....As  James  Monroe  did  Col.  Weedon's.... Note. ...Battles  in 
which  he  fought...  Sufferings  of  the  American  army. ..Note. ..Lieut. 

Murray  seriously  affected  by  explosion  of  a  battery Is  promoted  to 

a  Captaincy. ...Becomes  an  invalid  for  a  short  time. ...Retires  to  his 
father's...  Forlorn  state  of  the  poor  and  sick  soldier... Extortioners... 
Murray  recovers,  and  resumes  his  station  in  the  Navy  as  Comman- 
der of  a  Letter  of  Marque. ...Fidelity  of  American  officers,  but  one 
exception,  Benedict  Arnold.. ..Note. ...Incessant  service  of  Lieut. 
Comdt.  Murray. ...He  is  taken  prisoner,  paroled  and  exchanged.... 
He  enters  the  continental  frigate  Trumbull,  32  guns.. ..Note.. ..She 
encounters  a  violent  gale,  and  immediately  enters  into  a  most  des  - 
perate  engagement  with  the  frigate  Iris,  38  guns,  and  Monk,  of  18 
guns....  Description  of  the  battle...  Lieut.  Murray  is  severely  woun- 
ded.... The  wreck  of  the  Trumbull  is  towed  into  New  York  by  the 
enemy  ...He  again  recovers,  is  exchanged,  and  enters  the  frigate 
Alliance  as  1st  Lieutenant.... Peace  with  Britain,  1783.. ..The  fame 
of  Murray,  and  revolutionary  veterans. ...He  resumes  the  character 
of  the  private  citizen.. ..Annihilation  of  the  navy.... Meagre  resour- 


COM.  ALEX  AN  DKR  MURRAY.  245 

tes  of  the  colonies  at  the  close  of  the  revolution. ...Caution  of  Ame- 
rican Statesmen. 

Spoliations  upon  American  commerce,  and  indignity  to  American  cit- 
izens ...Commencement  of  a  naval  force.. ..Lieut.  Murray  appointed 
Post  Captain. ...Sails  in  corvette  Montezuma  against  French. ..Im- 
mense service  to  commerce. ..Receives  avote  of  thanks.. .Appointed 
tofrigalc  lnsurgente....Soon  after  to  the  Constellation.. .Is  encoun- 
tered bj'  the  Razee  Magnanimique... .Returns  the  fire.. ..Injures  his 
supposed  antagonist.... Finds  him  to  be  friendly.... Mutual  explana- 
tion, and  mutual  satisfaction.... Constellation  "and  Magnanimique, 
(Murray  andTaylor,)  President  and  Little  Belt,  (Rodgers  and  Bing- 
ham) Chesapeake  and  Leopard,  (Barron  and  Humphrey).. ..Peace 
between  America  and  France.. ..Note. 

Turkish  rapacity  against  American  commerce,  and  infernal  cruelty 
against  American  seamen. ...Commodore  Murray  appointed  to  com- 
mand American  Squadron  in  the  Mediterranean,  as  successor  of 
his  revolutionary  comrade,  CDm.  Dale. ...Restricted  power.. ..His 
flagship,  Constellation  assailed  by  Tripolitan  corsairs.... He  disper- 
ses them,  and  drives  them  under  the  Bashaw's  batteries. ...He  could 
not  act  offensively.... In  the  midst  of  his  defensive  operations,  is  su- 
perseded by  Com.  Morris.. ..Secret  intrigue  and  palpable  injury. 
Com.  Murray,  though  not  degraded,  feels  himself  injured,  and  re- 
monstrates...".Inexplicable  "affairs  of  state".. ..Peace  with  Tripoli, 
and  renown  of  modern  Naval  Heroes.. ..Affair  of  the  Chesapeake.... 
Com.  Murray  solicits  a  command.... Is  detained  at  home.... Secret 
machinations. 

Second  war  between  America  and  Britain. ...Com.  Murray,  senior 
Commodore  and  Post  Captain  in  the  Navy,  again  refused  a  command 
at  sea,  and  detained  at  home  to  discharge  duties  in  the  home  depart- 
ment....Peace  with  Britain. ...Com.  Murray  is  appointed  Comman- 
dant of  an  American  Navy  Yard.. ..Efficiency  of  Naval  defence.... 
Importance  of  Naval  Architecture.. ..Com.  Murray's  science,  skill 
and  judgment  in  his  new  capacity....  American  and  British  Naval 
Architecture.. ..Com.  Murray's  indefatigable  exertions,  and  unpar- 
alleled economy  in  the  service  of  the  Republic. ...Increase  of  the 
Navy  and  decrease  of  expenditure...  Com.  Murray's  closing  years... 
His  death. ...His  character.. ..Original  Ode.. ..Death  of  Com.  Mur- 
ray's son. 

It  is  the  usual  course  with  writers  of  Biography,  to  se- 
lect for  the  subjects  of  their  researches  and  lucubrations, 
those  fortunate  characters  who  have  signalized  themselves 
by  one  or  more  splendid  achievements  or  literary  produc- 
tions, and  have  become  the  idols  of  "  the  people."  The 
name  of  the  hero  is  a  passport  for  the  volume,  whether  he 
is  dressed  out  in  the  simple,  artless,  and  beautiful  attire  of 
33 


246  NAVAL  HEROES. 

Marmontel,  or  in  the  heavy,  coarse,  and  clumsy  garb  of  Bos- 
well. 

Our  own  country,  from  the  landing  of  the  pilgrims  to 
this  time,  affords  as  rich  a  harvest  of  biography  as  Rome 
did  for  Plutarch — as  France  has  for  Marmontel  and  La 
Montaigne — and  as  England,  Scotland  Ireland,  and  Wales? 
has,  for  a  countless  throng  of  major  and  minor  biographers. 
But  notwithstanding  u  the  harvest  is  truly  plenteous,  the  la- 
bourers are  few." 

To  the  conductors  of  the  Port  Folio*  and  the  Analectic 
Magazine,  the  American  reader  is  more  indebted  for  the 
Biography  of  modern  worthies,  than  to  all  other  American 
periodical  publications.  The  only  regret  in  the  mind  of 
their  readers  is,  that  although  they  have  multurn  in  parvo4 
they  do  not  furnish  their  patrons  with  half  enough. 

In  the  last  mentioned  publication,  is  found  the  following 
forcible  remark — "  We  have  seen  works  of  this  kind 
("American  Biographical  Works,")  too  often  made  the 
vehicles  of  adulation  to  the  living,  and  extravagant  eulogy 
of  the  dead,  for  the  sordid  purpose  of  gaining  patronage, 
and  swelling  subscription  lists."  And,  in  speaking  of  au- 
thors, it  says  that  there  "  is  a  chance  of  being  dazzled  by 
the  glare  of  fresh  blown  reputations,  or  of  mistaking  tran- 
sient notoriety  for  that  solid  fame  which  is  slowly  collected 
from  the  sober  judgment  of  the  nation." 

One  fact  however  is  certain,  that  the  "  Analectic  Maga- 
zine itself,"  has  suddenly  captivated  its  readers,  with  high- 
ly coloured  and  highly  finished  biographies  of  "  fresh-  blown 
reputations"  which  were  gained  in  a  fortunate  hour  and 
not  "  slowly  collected." 

*  With  deference,  however,  Henry  Dearborn's  "  Account  of  the 
Battle  of  Bunker  Hill,"  must  always  be  excepted. 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURRAY.  247 

These  biographies  were  to  be  found  in  the  offices  of  men 
and  upon  the  toilets  of  ladies.  The  faces  of  these  favour- 
ites of  fortune,  and  heroes  of  renown  were  exhibited  in 
galleries  of  painting,  in  parlours  and  in  print-shops  ;  and 
the  lovers  of  the  olfactory  cordial  could  scarcely  gratify  one 
of  the  five  senses,  without  snuffing  to  the  "  immortal  glory'' 
of  some  matchless  hero,  looking  from  the  lid  of  his  pocket- 
box.  The  fatigued  nymph,  while  wafting  to  her  relief  the 
refreshing  breeze,  would  suddenly  stop — eye  the  heroe's 
face  upon  her  fan — give  a  melting  sigh  ;  and,  in  tender 
tones  exclaim  "May  beauty  ever  be  the  reward  of  the 
brave." 

Such  has  not  been  the  high  destiny  of  the  venerable 
reteran  whose  life  and  character,  with  deep  solicitude,  I 
now  attempt  imperfectly  to  portray. 

Aexander  Murray  was  born  in  Chestertown.  state  of 
Maryland,  in  the  memorable  year  1755 — memorable  as  the 
year  which  first  involved  the  infant  colonies  in  a  war 
with  a  foreign  civilized  power,  for  with  native  savages  they 
had  always  been  at  war. 

To  trace  back  the  parentage  of  Alexander  Murray,  would 
open  one  of  the  most  capacious  fields  of  biography,  and  em- 
brace one  of  the  most  interesting  periods  of  British  history. 
It  would  require  the  polished  pen  of  their  own  Robertson 
to  detail,  with  historical  fidelity,  the  various  and  deeply  in- 
teresting events,  in  which  his  grandfather,  the  "  Highland 
Chief  Murray"  was  engaged,  and  the  heart-rending  scenes 
through  which  he,  his  family  and  his  Clan  were  doomed  to 
pass. 

The  Highland  chiefs  of  Scotland  have  ever  been  renown- 
ed as  the  most  daring,  romantic,  chivalrous  and  dauntless 
race  of  men  upon  earth.     Their  simple,  unvarnished  histo- 


248  NAVAL  HEROES. 

ry  will  speak  their  eulogy,  far  better  than  the  inflated  ro- 
mances and  wizzard  fictions  which  "  invade"  our  country. 

When  the  House  of  Stuart  became  extinct,  as  it  regards 
regal  power,  by  the  abdication  of  the  British  throne,  by 
James  11.,  and  the  House  of  Brunswick  began,  by  import- 
ing the  Guelphs  from  the  continent,  real  high-minded  Scots- 
men claimed  in  the  eighteenth  century,  as  a  matter  of  right, 
what,  in  the  nineteenth,  has  been  enforced  by  the  arm  of  pow- 
er, that  none  but  a  "  legitimate  sovereign"  should  set  upon 
the  throne  of  Britain. 

The  ardent  and  chivalrous  young  Murray,  Alexander's 
grand-sire,  put  himself  at  the  head  of  his  Clan,  possessed 
each  of  spirits,  chivalrous  as  his  own,  and  espoused  the 
cause  of  the  Pretender. 

Every  American  reader  is,  or  ought  to  be,  well  acquaint- 
ed with  English  history  at  that  period,  as  it  is  so  much  con- 
nected with  the  history  of  our  own  country.  History  has 
been  well  denominated  "  Philosophy  teaching  by  exam- 
ple," and  every  American,  in  a  certain  degree,  must  be  a 
historian,  philosopher,  and  politician,  to  enable  him  to  ap- 
preciate the  invaluable  blessings  enjoyed  in  our  Republic, 
when  compared  with  the  oppression  of  his  fellow-creatures 
in  other  portions  of  the  globe. 

The  cause  that  Murray's  ancestor  espoused  was  the 
cause  of  the  Catholic  Religion  and  the  cause  of  his  Prince  ; 
a  religion  which  may  well  claim  the  greatest  antiquity  of 
any  system  adopted  under  the  Christian  dispensation  ;  and 
since  the  Reformation  effected  by  the  immortal  Martin  Lu- 
ther, may  claim  quite  as  much  consistency. 

It  was  a  master-stretch  of  policy  in  the  House  of  Tudor, 
to  alarm  their  subjects  about  the  horrors  of  the  Catholic 
religion,  and  to  set  at  defiance  the  Papal  power,  in  order 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURRAY.  249 

to  exercise  as  corrupt  a  power  themselves  over  their  own 
subjects.* 

It  was  well  for  the  House  of  Brunswick  to  denounce  the 
House  of  Stuart — to  adhere  to  the  "  Protestant  Succes- 
sion"— to  raise  the  alarm  of  "  gun-powder  plots  and  trea- 
son" in  order  to  furnish  a  pretext  for  the  persecution  of 
the  unoffending  Catholics,  whom  they  still  persecute  ;  and, 
to  secure  themselves  upon  the  throne  of  Britain. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  ascertain  whether  the  ancient  Mur- 
rays  were  advocates  of  the  Pope,  of  Luther,  Calvin,  or 
Knox — suffice  it  to  say  that  in  the  memorable  "  Scots  Re- 
bellion" in  seventeen  hundred  and  fifteen,  the  gallant 
Scots  Chief,  Murray,  and  his  dauntless  clan  fought  as  much 
in  the  cause  of  a  legitimate  sovereign,  as  did  the  Irish  gen- 
eral, Arthur  Wellesley^  in  the  "  Holy  Alliance"  of  eigh- 
teen hundred  and  fifteen.! 

*  The  history  of  Henry  VIII.  and  his  daughter,  Queen  Elizabeth. 

f  Attend  for  a  moment  to  what  a  high-minded  Englishman  said  up- 
on this  subject  "to  the  People1' — (in  Feb.  I780,)  which  met  the  eye 
«f  Geo.  III.  in  an  hour  after  it  issued  from  the  press. — 

"  Let  me  conjure  you  to  be  no  longer  deceived  by  the  pious  hypoc- 
risy of  the  present  king  ;  he  has  done  more  in  the  short  space  of  a feis 
years,  to  subvert  your  religion  and  liberties,  and  to  ruin  the  nation, 
than  ever  Charles  thejirst  did  during  the  whole  course  of  his  life,  and 
yet  he  was  brought  to  the  block,  by  the  virtue,  firmness,  and  resolu- 
tion of  our  forefathers  ;  if  ke  had  not,  we  at  this  day  should  not  have 
had  either  liberty  or  freedom  to  have  contended  for,  nor  would  Eng- 
land have  been  reduced  to  its  present  miserable,  disgraceful  and  ru- 
inous state,  by  a  dasterdly,  mulish  tyrant,  of  the  house  of  Brunswick." 

"  James  the  second  at  his  first  coming  to  the  crown  of  England,  pro- 
fessed (though  not  BORN  a  BRITON)  so  much  tenderness  for  the 
people,  and  so  great  a  regard  for  the  preservation  of  their  liberties 
and  their  property,  that  the  parliament  and  people  gave  him  more 
money  than  he  asked,  and  he  himself  had  honour  enough  to  put  a  stop 
to  the  profusion  of  their  grants  and  foolish  loyalty.     The  deluded  peo- 


*8i  NAVAL  HEROES. 

A  successful  rebellion  acquires  the  more  courtly  name 
of  a  revolution  ;  while  a  suppressed  one  is  denominated 
treason.  The  rebellion  of  Scotland,  in  1715,  was  crushed 
by  the  hand  of  English  power,  and  her  union  with  the 
British  crown  annihilated  her  ancient  greatness  forever. 

Murray's  immense  estates  were  confiscated  to  pay  for 
his  valour — he  was  banished  from  the  land  of  his  nativity. 
as  Napoleon  was  from  Europe,  because  his  presence  might 
endanger  the  safety  of  a  then  new  dynasty,  but  which  has 
now  become  legitimatized,  by  the  legerdemain  of  princes 
and  the  force  of  arms. 

The  British  king,  little  thought  that  from  the  loins  of  this 
banished  Chief,  in  little  more  than  half  a  century  after  the 
sentence  of  banishment  was  promulgated  and  executed, 
there  would  arise  a  gallant  warrior  in  the  New  World,  who 
would  act  a  most  distinguished  part  in  a  drama,  the  catas- 
trophe of  which  would  be,  in  wresting  from  the  crown  of 
Britain  the  finest  section  of  the  British  empire — and  such 
was  Alexander  Murray,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.    He 

pie  presently  saw  their  error,  for  he  soon  began  to  put  the  imperial 
law  of  his  own  WILL  in  execution,  and  to  exercise  an  arbitrary  and 
uncontroled  power  over  them." 

"  James  being  deserted  by  his  priests  and  chaplains  (who  had  in- 
vested him  with  all  his  illegal  arbitrary  power)  he  was  at  length  obli- 
ged to  fly  from  the  face  of  an  injured  people,  and  seek  refuge  in  a  for- 
eign land,  as  a  proper  and  just  reward  for  all  his  villainy.  That  anoth- 
er base,  ungrateful,  perjured,  hypocritical  and  blood-thirsty  tyrant, 
may  share  the  same  or  a  worse  fate,  is  the  sincere  wish  of  millions." 

Thus  it  would  seem  from  the  days  of  the  Charleses  and  the  Jameses 
of  the  House  of  Stuart,  and  down  to  the  third  George  of  the  House  of 
Brunswick,  there  has  been  a  succession  of  changes  from  bad  to  worse, 
until  no  change  could  render  the  British  monarchy  more  oppressive 
to  the  people.  It  was  the  House  of  Brunswick  that  the  Murrays  op- 
posed, and  for  that  they  were  banished  as  rebels. 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURRAY.  25j 

was  surely  a  legitimate,  and  he  was  also  a  successful  rebel — 
a  revolutionist. 

The  reader  may  wish  to  he  informed  of  the  destiny  of 
the  Chief,  subsequent  to  his  banishment.  What  would  fur- 
nish materials  for  a  volume,  must  be  despatched  in  a  few 
sentences,  and  this  will  lead  directly  to  the  notice  of  his 
descendant,  the  American  Murray. 

The  banished  Highland  Chief  landed  with  the  wreck  of 
his  fortune,  and  with  his  family,  upon  the  island  of  Barba- 
does.  The  attachment  of  a  Scotsman  to  "  Auld  Coila" 
is  proverbial  ;  and  although  the  pensioned  Johnson  sneer- 
ed at  her  barren  fields,  and  oaten  cakes,  and  declared  that 
*'  The  best  prospect  he  saw  in  Scotland  was  the  high  road 
that  led  to  Old  England" — yet  a  more  high  minded — a 
more  profound  literati — a  more  virtuous  peasantry,  were 
never  known  than  she  has  aiways  produced. 

Although  on  the  beautiful  island  of  Barbadoes,  it  must, 
for  a  season,  have  seemed  to  him  like  a  waste,  and  he  to 
himself  but  an  exile  and  a  wonder.*  But  his  innate  great- 
ness could  not  be  diminished  by  being  driven  from  a  once 
powerful  kingdom  to  an  island  in  the  West  Indies. 

It  was  here  the  father  of  our  hero  was  born,  as  was  also 
a  sister  of  his  father,  the  grand-mother  of  Benjamin  Chew, 
Esq.  of  Philadelphia. 

His  father  and  his  aunt,  in  early  life,  directed  their 
views  to  America,  which  was  then,  is  now,  and  heaven 

*  The  situation  of  this  banished  chief,  reminds  the  historian  of  thai 
of  the  Doge  of  Genoa,  at  Paris,  who  had  been  ordered  to  leave  his 
dominions,  and  appear  before  his  Most  Christian  Majesty.  A  French 
courtier  asked  the  Doge  "  What  was  the  greatest  wonder  he  there 
saw  ?"  He  indignantly  answered.  M  The  Doge  of  Genoa  in  the  city 
of  Paris." 


252  NAVAL  HEROES. 

grant  it  ever  may  be,  the  most  capacious  tield  for  manly 
enterprise,  and  the  safest '  asylum  for  oppressed  humanity.' 

He  selected  Chestertown,  in  Maryland,  as  the  place  of 
his  residence,  and  soon  became  distinguished  as  a  physi- 
cian. His  dignified  manners,  his  scientific  acquirements, 
and  his  manly  virtues,  attracted  the  attention  of  people  of 
the  first  rank,  and  secured  the  affection  of  a  Miss  Smith, 
the  daughter  of  a  distinguished  citizen,  whom  he  mar- 
ried. They  were  blessed  with  a  numerous  progeny,  who 
have  all  sustained  the  high  standing  of  their  exalted  pro- 
genitors. 

Alexander  Murray,  (the  late  Commodore)  was  the 
youngest  child  of  this  numerous  family.  Had  he  been 
born  in  the  dominions  of  Britain,  where  the  hereditary 
principle  exalts  the  first-born,  and  leaves  younger  sons  to 
press  forward  to  fortune  and  to  fame,  by  their  own  efforts, 
this  circumstance  alone  would  have  served  as  a  sort  of 
impetus  to  urge  him  forward.  But  in  our  beloved  Repub- 
lic, primogeniture  is  known  only  in  family  records,  or  the 
parish  register.  All  sons  are  here  '  born  equal,'  and  like 
Paul,  are  '  born  free.' 

Young  Murray  received  as  good  an  education  as  the  se- 
minaries of  learning  in  that  portion  of  the  country,  at  that 
time,  could  afford.  The  literary  and  scientific  acquire- 
ments of  his  father  led  him  to  appreciate  duly  the  inesti- 
mable value  of  knowledge,  in  any  and  in  every  situation 
in  life  ;  and  he  spared  no  pains  to  qualify  his  numerous 
children  to  act  well  their  parts,  as  they  entered,  one  after 
the  other,  upon  the  stage  of  life. 

It  will  not  comport  with  the  limits  or  design  of  this  im- 
perfect Sketch,  to  notice  further  any  branch  of  this  inter- 
esting family,  except  the  one  who  is  the  subject  of  it.     A 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURRAY. 

Biography  of  the    Family  of  Murray  would   make  a  capa- 
cious and  deeply  interesting  volume. 

Horn  and  educated  in  a  state,  which  hounds  upon  the 
largest  hay  in  the  world,  and  has  for  its  capital  one  of  the 
most  important  commercial  cities  in  the  Republic,  the  an- 
imating scenes  upon  the  bosom  of  the  Chesapeake,  and  the 
ceaseless  activity  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  led  young  Mur- 
ray to  select  the  nautical  profession  as  his  pursuit  for  life. 

It  was  a  circumstance  peculiarly  favourable  to  the  then 
future  renown  of  the  American  navy,  that  those  who  after- 
wards became  commanders  in  it,  first  made  themselves 
masters  of  the  theory  and  practice  of  navigation.  As  it 
would  be  but  repeating  what  the  writer  hastily  expressed 
in  a  recent  publication  upon  this  subject,  he  hopes  to  be 
excused  for  referring  the  reader  to  that  volume.* 

In  the  organization  of  the  British  navy  a  vast  many 
young  men,  who  can  scarcely  distinguish  the  main  from 
the  quarter-deck — the  starboard  bow  from  the  larboard 
quarter — the  mainsail  from  the  jib,  being  "  younger  sons 
of  younger  brothers,"  "  the  cankers  of  a  calm  world,"  and 
yet  having  the  clumsy  blood  of  a  degenerated  nobility 
sluggishly  coursing  through  their  nerveless  bodies,  are  ap- 
pointed officers  to  command  the  weather-beaten  sons  of 
Neptune  in  their  floating  dungeons,  who  were  forced  into 
them  by  a  press-gang.  Such  men  there,  have  to  obey 
such  boys  there. 

Not  so  was  it  in  the  little  marine  force  of  the  Thirteen 
Colonies  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  which  sprang  up, 
as  if  by  magic,  and  as  if  by  magic  conquered  the  floating 
bulwarks  of  the  "  Q.ieen  of  the  Ocean." 

*  "  Life  and  Character  of  Com.  Decatur."    2d  Edition, 

34 


254  NAVAL  HEROES. 

The  little  Continental  Ships  were  then  commanded  by 
such  men  as  Nicholas  Biddle,  George  Little,  John  Manley7 
James  Nicholson,  Edivard  Preble,  John  Paul  Jones,  Thomas 
Truxton,  the  Subject  of  this  Sketch,  and  a  list  of  men  too 
numerous  to  mention  here,  and  too  valiant  and  patriotic 
ever  to  be  forgotten. 

They  learned  to  serve  themselves,  before  they  ordered 
others  to  service — they  learned  the  necessity  of  obedience, 
before  they  aspired  to  the  rank  of  commanders. 

So  indefatigable  was  young  Murray  as  a  navigator — so 
skilful,  so  trust-worthy,  that  at  the  early  age  of  eighteen,  he 
became  master  of  a  valuable  ship  in  the   European  trade. 

The  early  education  of  this  high-minded  descendant,  of 
a  high-minded  race,  made  him  well  acquainted  with  the 
history  of  the  country  of  his  ancestors,  and  more  minutely 
with  the  tragical  history  of  his  ancestors  themselves. 

His  classical  parents  infused  into  his  naturally  ardent 
mind,  a  high  sense  of  independence — detailed  to  him  the 
scenes  of  sufferings  through  which  his  grandsire  passed — 
gave  him  an  account  of  the  confiscation  of  his  ample  estates 
in  Scotland,  to  satiate  the  almost  insatiable  cupidity  of  the 
reigning  House  of  Brunswick,  wielding  the  sceptre  of  pow- 
er over  the  land  of  Wallace,  Bruce,  Lovatt,  and  "  Murray 
of  Elginshire." 

As  the  same  dynasty  began  to  stretch  her  powerful  arm 
across  the  Atlantic,  and  to  wield  the  rod  of  oppression  over 
his  adopted,  as  she  had  for  a  century  over  the  native  land 
of  his  ancestors,  he  rekindled  in  the  bosom  of  his  son  the 
noble  flame  which  three  quarters*  of  a  century  before  glow- 
ed in  the  bosom  of  his  grandfather,  a  Chief  of  the  Clan  of 
Elginshire. 
*  The  Rebellion  in  Scotland  began  in  1715,  in  America  in  1775, 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURRAY.  255 

it  was  not  so  with  all  the  Murray s  who  sprang  from 
Scotland.  The  classical  William  Murray  crossed  the  Riv- 
er Forth, — became  a  subservient  courtier  to  George  III, — 
left  the  muses  which  he  had  courted  in  the  land  of  Ossian, 
Campbell,  and  Burns,  and  became  a  peer  of  Old  England. 
This  defection  made  Pope,  the  Bard  of  Twickenham,  ex- 
claim, 

"  How  great  an  Ovid  was  in  Murray  lost." 

This  Prince  of  British  poets,  had  he  not  been  somewhat 
captivated  with  the  princes  of  Hanover,  might  better  have 
sung, 

"  How  great  a  Murray*  was  in  Mansfield  lost." 

*  William  Murray,  by  his  subserviency  to  the  house  of  Brunswick, 
was  created  "  Earl  of  Mansfield."  Well  may  the  American  Mur- 
rays  despise  the  memory  of  a  Scots  Murray,  springing  from  the  same 
country,  and  from  the  same  stock,  when  they  reflect,  that  he,  in  the 
court  of  Britain,  advised  his  master  George  III.  to  exterminate  them 
in  their  adopted  country. 

In"  The  Scourge"  No.  IV.  published  in  London,  Feb.  19,  1780, 
ais  lordship  is  thus  addressed. 

To  the  Right  Hon.  (subtle  Scotsman)  William  Murray,  Earl    of 
Mansfield. 
My  Lord, 

The  wicked,  mischievous,  and  hellish  conspiracy  your  Lordship 
had  formed  (in  conjunction  with  others,)  under  the  auspices  of  a  das. 
tardly  tyrant,  against  the  common  rights  of  mankind,  and  envied  con- 
stitution of  the  British  empire,  was  laid  deep,  and  it  spread  wide,  you 
urged  it  on  with  a  steady  zeal,  and  an  unwearied  application,  but  as 
soon  as  your  infernal  scheme  of  destroying  charters,  and  arbitrarily 
imposing  taxes,  on  a  people  whom  you  never  saw,  in  America,  contrary 
even  to  any  pretence  or  legal  claim  of  right  failed  ;  you  watched  aU 
opportunities  to  begin  the  bloody  execution  and  slaughter  of  mankind, 
that  you  might  satiate  your  Scots  revenge  with  human  gore ;  thefirs^ 
opposition  to  despotic  power  you  declared  in  the  privy  council,  to  be 
an  act  of  rebellion,  and  in  consequence  of  that  diabolical  advice  which 


256  NAVAL  HEROES. 

But  the  Earl  of  Mansfield,  once  the  companion  of  Pope, 
and  once  the  idol  of  the  House  of  Brunswick,  and  still  the 

you  knew  would  please  the  temper  of  your  master,  whose  aim  is  to  be 
the  imperial  tyrant  and  butcher  of  the  human  race  ;  many  thousand 
distressed  orphans,  and  unhappy  widows  are  now  bewailing  the  loss 
of  their  murdered  fathers  and  husbands,  and  daily  call  to  Heaven  for 
vengeance  on  your  head,  as  the  author  of  their  miseries  ;  for  they 
%vell  know,  my  Lord,  that  you  have  been  the  artful  friend  who  planned 
and  advised  their  total  extirpation  by  the  sword,  if  they  would  not 
submit  to  be  slaves.  This,  my  Lord,  the  whole  kingdom  must  be  con- 
vinced of,  and  believe,  for  none  but  a  monster  in  human  shape,  or 
some  malignant  devil  could  have  said  what  you  uttered  in  the  House 
of  Peers  against  the  people  of  America  more  than  four  years  since, 
"  If  we  don't  kill  them,  they  will  kill  us  ;"  yes,  my  Lord,  it  was  your 
advice  and  your  design  to  kill  them,  and  you,  together  with  your  hu- 
mane master,  gloried  in  the  slaughter  :  Heaven  be  praised,  your  suc- 
cess has  not  been  so  great  as  you  expected,  they  have  gloriously  and 
manfully  resisted  your  tyranny,  and  frustrated  all  your  schemes  of  ' 
despotism  and  arbitrary  power  over  them. 

As  you  found,  my  Lord,  the  Americans  were  too  wise,  too  brave, 
and  too  virtuous  to  be  cheated  out  of  their  birth-rights  as  Englishmen, 
by  your  chicanery,  sophistry,  and  Scotch  cunning,  or  by  force  ;  you 
and  your  master  the  tool  of  a  desperate  faction,  are  now  determined  to 
try  the  same  experiment  upon  the  deluded  people  of  this  country." 

It  is  well  known  to  the  legal  profession  what  broad  strides  towards 
despotic  power  "  Lord  Chief  Justice  Mansfield,"  made  in  the  trial  of 
Woodfall,  for  publishing  the  "  Letters  of  Junius"— Letters  which 
now  rank  with  the  very  first  of  the  "  British  Classics," — Letters  which 
William  Murray  might  have  considered  as  cheaply  suppressed  al  the 
price  of  his  "  Earldom  in  Scotland," — Letters  which  must  make  the 
present  hereditary  Earl  of  Mansfield  blush  at  the  "  bad  eminence"  of 
his  ancestor,  and  which  may  well  make  the  American  Murrays  exult 
that  their  ancestor  became  a  victim  instead  of  a  favourite  to  the 
House  of  Brunswick.  The  following  language  was  used  by  another 
patriotic  Englishman. 

"Freedom  of  speech  and  public  writing,  is  the  birthright  of  every 
man,  a  sacred  and  most  invaluable  privilege,  so  essential  and  necessa- 
ry to  the  happiness  of  a  free  people,  that  the  security  of  property,  and 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURRAY.  2j7 

oracle  with  the  iegal  profession,  will  never  be  forgotten, 
for  the  Letters  of  Junius  will  forever  be  read;  and  Wil- 
liam Murray,  will  "  Be  dam'd  to  everlasting  fame." 

Alexander  Murray,  when  the  olive  branch  of  peace 
ceased  to  wave  over  his  native  land,  and  the  clarion  of 
war  echoed  along  its  extended  shores,  and  over  its  lofty 
mountains,  left  the  peaceable  and  profitable  pursuits  of 
commerce,  to  face  the  enemies  of  his  country  arm  to  arm. 

From  eighteen  to  twenty  one,  he  had  been  in  command 
of  merchant  vessels,  and  had  become  acquainted  with  eve- 
ry part  of  the  Atlantic  ocean,  where  it  was  most  probable, 
that  the  British  marine,  would  bring  its  force  to  operate, 
and  where  British  commerce  would  be  most  exposed  to 
capture. 

the  preservation  of  liberty,  must  stand  or  fall  with  it.  Whoever,  like 
the  present  king  and  his  ministers,  would  undermine  an  equal,  limited 
and  free  government,  and  destroy  the  natural  rights  of  mankind,  must 
begin  by  subduing  freedom  of  speech  and  public  writing  (this  was  at- 
tempted in  the  second  year  of  this  blessed  reign,  against  the  authors, 
printers  and  publishers  of  the  Monitor,  North  Briton,  &c.)  which 
that  hoary  traitor  Mansfield  (who  has  more  than  once  on  his  knees 
drank  damnation  to  the  present  family  on  the  throne)  calls  the  licen- 
tiousness of  the  press,  because  he  and  his  master  wish  to  do  public 
mischief  without  hearing  of  it,  conscious  that  it  has  been  a  terror  to 
tyrants,  traitors,  and  oppressors." 

That  great  and  able  statesman,  the  Lord  Treasurer  Burleigh,  used 
frequently  to  say  that  England  would  never  be  ruined,  unless  it  was 
by  a  Parliament  ;  he  consequently  foresaw,  that  other  oppressions 
wrought  by  violence,  would  be  at  once  resisted  and  by  violence  shaken 
off  again.  This  maxim  those  notorious  enemies  to  the  peace  and 
freedom  of  mankind,  Lords  Bute  and  Mansfield,  instilledjinto  the  mind 
of  the  king,  and  he  with  a  narrowness  of  soul,  peculiar  to  himself,  and 
to  every  tyrant  upon  earth,  sucked  in  the  poison  ;  and  Lord  North, 
the  contemptible  puppet  of  the  court  faction,  was  singled  out  as  a 
proper  tool  to  carry  into  execution  the  grand  design  of  public  mis- 
chief and  public  ruin. 


258  NAVAL  HEROES. 

In  1 776,  he  was  appointed  a  Lieutenant  in  the  Continen- 
tal Navy,  although  there  was  then  no  navy  but  "  in  em- 
bryo." 

Although  privateering  was  then,  as  it  still  continues  to 
be,  a  legalized  mode  of  warfare,  yet  it  was  a  pursuit  not 
congenial  with  the  lofty  sentiments  of  the  lieutenant. 

Although  the  ocean  was  his  adopted  and  favourite  ele- 
ment, he  solicited  a  command  in  the  first  Maryland  regi- 
ment, then  about  to  be  organized  under  the  command  of 
Col.  William  Smallwood,*  who  afterwards  highly  distin- 
guished himself. 

*  Fully  persuaded  that  the  reader  will  be  gratified  with  a  conclusive 
testimony  of  the  high  reputation  of  Com.  Murray's  first  commander 
upon  land,  I  present  him  with  that  from  the  lips  of  the  dying  and  gal- 
lant Baron  De  Kalb,  communicated  by  his  gallant  aid-de-camp 
Chevalier  Dubuyson,  who,  when  his  general  had  received  eleven 
wounds,  flung  his  own  body  between  him  and  the  enemy's  bayonets, 

and  received  them  himself. 

Charlotte,  August  26,  1780. 
"  Dear  General, 

"  Having  received  several  wounds  in  the  action  of  the  16th  instant, 
I  was  made  a  prisoner  with  the  Honourable  Major  General  the  Baron 
de  Kalb,  with  whom  I  served  as  aid-de-camp  and  friend,  and  had  an 
opportunity  of  attending  that  great  and  good  officer  during  the  short 
time  he  languished  with  eleven  wounds,  which  proved  mortal  on  the 
third  day. 

"  It  is  with  pleasure  I  obey  the  Baron's  last  commands,  in  present- 
ing his  most  affectionate  compliments  to  all  the  officers  and  men  of 
his  division  :  expressed  the  greatest  satisfaction  in  the  testimony  giv- 
en by  the  British  army  of  the  bravery  of  his  troops  :  and  he  was 
charmed  with  the  firm  opposition  they  made  to  superior  force,  when 
abandoned  by  the  rest  of  the  army.  The  gallant  behaviour  of  the  De- 
laware regiment,  and  the  companies  of  artillery  attached  to  the  brig- 
ades, afforded  him  infinite  pleasure,  and  the  exemplary  conduct  of  the 
whole  division,  gave  him  an  endearing  sense  of  the  merit  of  the  troops 
he  had  the  honor  to  command.  I  am,  dear  General, 

With  regard  and  respect,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 
La  Chevaliek  Dubuyson. 

To  Brigadier  General  Smallwood. 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURRAY.  259 

He  was  immediately  appointed  a  Lieutenant  in  this  re 
■^imcnt,  and,  with  his  gallant  company  of  Marylanderv 

In  less  than  thirty  days  after  this  battle,  (at  Camden,  S.  C.)  in 
which  Brig.  Gen.  Smallwood  bore  a  distinguished  part  (and  in  which 
the  Maryland  regimeut  in  which  Alexander  Murray  was  once  a  Cap- 
tain, "covered  itself  with  glory,")  he  was  appointed  Major  General 
of  the  division  then  lately  commanded  by  the  heroic  De  Kalb. 

Confident  that  the  reader  will  be  pleased  with  the  following  lette; 
in  my  possession,  I  insert  it ;  and  would  add,  that  Gen.  Morgan  men 
tioned  in  the  letter  was  the  Hero  of  the  battle  of  the  Cowpens,  and 
afterwards  commander  of  the  Virginia  forces  in  suppressing  the 
"  Whiskey  Rebellion,"  in  the  western  counties  of  Pennsylvania. 
Col.  Washington  was  a  captain  at  the  victory  of  Trentou  ;  and,  with 
Lieut.  James  Monroe,  (the  President)  took  from  the  British  artiller- 
ists two  cannon  in  the  act  of  firing,  and  were  both  there  severely 
wounded.  The  pine  log  stratagem  was  admirably  calculated  to  intim- 
idate the  detested  tories  of  the  south,  who  infested  that  country  a= 
much  as  they  did  New  York,  when  Capt.  Murray  was  in  the  army. 
(Copy)  Camp,  Dec,  6,  1780. 

Dear  Sir, 

Receiving  intelligence,  on  the  first  of  this  instant,  that  parties  of 
the  tories  were  advancing  from  the  outposts  of  the  British,  up  to  Cane 
and  Lynche's  creeks,  with  a  view  to  intercept  our  waggons,  and  avail 
themselves  of  the  supplies  in  those  settlements,  from  whence  the  prin- 
cipal support  of  the  troops  under  my  command  has  been  drawn  for 
some  time  past. 

I  detached  General  Morgan,  with  500  infantry,  and  Lieut.  Colonel 
Washington  with  100  cavalry,  to  cover  a  number  of  waggons  which 
were  ordered  down  in  that  quarter  after  corn  and  pork,  and  if  possible 
to  intercept  the  tories. 

The  enemy,  gaining  intelligence  of  the  advance  of  our  troops,  re- 
treated, and  whilst  the  covering  party  remained  on  that  duty,  Lieut. 
Col.  Washington,  with  the  contiuental  and  some  militia  horse,  reduced 
Col.  Rugely,  Maj.  Cook  and  112  tory  officers  and  soldiers,  (in  a  log- 
ged barn,  on  Rugely's  plantation,  strongly  secured  by  abatis)  to  sur 
render  at  discretion,  without  fii  ing  a  shot. 

The  Colonel's  address  and  stratagem,  on  the  occasion,  deserve  ap 


260  NAVAL  HEROES. 

followed  Colonel  Smallwood  to  the  "tented  field,"  as 
Lieutenant  Monroe  (now  the  admired  President  of  the 
American  Republic)  did,  with  his  company  of  gallant  Vir- 
ginians, follow  Col.  Weedon. 

Both  of  these  regiments  joined  the  main  army  near  New 
York.  Both  of  these  ardent  Lieutenants  fought  in  the 
battle  of  White-plains.  Both  of  them  were  promoted  to 
a  captaincy  for  their  steady  conduct  and  cool  courage. 
Each  contracted  a  friendship  for  the  other,  which  lasted 
and  which  strengthened  until  the  day  of  Alexander  Mur- 
ray's death. 

Lieut.  Murray  was  also  in  the  sanguinary  battle  of  Flat- 
bush,  where  he  displayed  his  usual  gallantry.  In  this  bat- 
tle Maj.  Gen.  Israel  Putnam  was  senior  officer,  as  he  was 
the  preceding  year,  at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill.  Lieut. 
Murray  was  in  the  masterly  retreat  from  Long  Island  with 
Gen.  Putnam's  division  of  the  army,  and  again  joined  the 
main  army  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

Capt.  Murray  had  hitherto  escaped  unhurt,  although  in 
the  midst  of  danger.  But  he  was  soon  to  receive  an  injury 
which  was  to  end  only  with  his  life. 

Gen.  Washington's  whole  force  in  New  York  was  less 
than  20,000,  while  Sir  William  Howe's  army,  as  estimated 

plause  ;  having  no  artillery,  he  mounted  a  pine  log-,  and  holding  out 
the  appearance  of  an  attack  with   field  pieces,  carried  his  point,  by 
sending  in  a  flag,  and  demanding  an  immediate  surrender. 
With  very  sincere  regard, 

I  remain,  your  most  obedient, 

Humble  servant, 

Wm.  Smallwood. 
Hon.  Gen.  Greene. 

Published  by  order  of  CoDgress, 

Charles  Thomson,  Sec'ry. 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURRAY.  261 

by  the  British  minister,  consisting  of  British  and  Hessian 
troops^  amounted  to  more  than  30,000. 

The  city  was  invested  by  a  strong  naval  force — Hudson 
and  East  rivers  were  commanded  by  British  men  of  war, 
and  the  whole  American  army  seemed  to  be  in  the  same 
state  as  a  "  forlorn  hope." 

That  consummate  general,  Washington,  like  the  Roman 
Fabius,  and  the  French  Moreau,  knew  that  the  salvation  of 
an  army  by  a  skilful  and  military  retreat,*  was  far  more 
glorious  than  to  expose  it  to  almost  inevitable  destruction, 

*In  relation  to  this  retreat,  which  might  be  said  to  have  been  the 
salvation  of  the  American  cause,  I  find  the  following  fact  in  relation  to 
the  imminent  danger  of  about  one  fifth  of  the  whole  force,  in  "  Thatch- 
er's Journal." 

"When  retreating  from  New  York,  (in  1776)  Major  General  Put- 
nam at  the  head  of  3500  continental  troop9,  was  in  the  rear,  and  the 
last  that  left  the  city.  In  order  to  avoid  any  of  the  enemy  that  might 
be  advancing  in  the  direct  road  to  the  city,  he  made  choice  of  a  road 
parallel  with,  and  contiguous  to,  the  North  River,  till  he  could  arrive 
at  a  certain  angle  whence  another  road  would  conduct  him  in  such  a 
direction  as  that  he  might  form  a  junction  with  our  army.  It  so  hap- 
pened that  a  body  of  about  8000  British  and  Hessians  were  at  the  same 
moment  advancing  on  the  road  which  would  have  brought  them  in  im- 
mediate contact  with  Gen.  Putnam,  before  he  could  have  reached  the 
turn  in  the  other  road.— Most  fortunately,  the  British  generals,  seeing 
no  prospect  of  engaging  our  troops,  halted  their  own,  and  repaired  to 
the  house  of  a  Mr.  Robert  Murray,  a  Quaker  and  a  friend  of  our 
cause.  Mrs.  Murray  treated  them  with  cake  and  wine,  and  they  were 
induced  to  tarry  two  hours  or  more.  Governor  Tryon  frequently 
joking  her  about  her  American  friends.  By  this  happy  incident,  Gen. 
Putnam,  by  continuing  his  march,  escaped  a  rencontre  with  a  greatly 
superior  force,  which  must  have  proved  fatal  to  his  whole  party.— One 
half  hour,  it  is  said,  would  have  been  sufficient  for  tlJI  enemy  to  secure 
the  road  at  the  turn,  and  entirely  cut  off  Gen.  Putnam's  retreat.  It 
has  since  become  almost  a  common  saying  among  our  officers,  (hat 
Mrs.  Murray  saved  this  part  of  the  American  army." 
35 


262  NAVAL  HEROES. 

a  rushing  precipitately  upon  an  overwhelming  superiority 
of  force. 

Capt.  Murray  at  about  the  time  of  the  evacuation  of  the 
city  of  New  York,  was  stationed  at  the  battery,  and  there, 
by  the  hursting  and  explosion  of  numerous  pieces  of  cannon 
was  severely  deafened. 

The  loss  of  one  eye  and  one  arm  to  Nelson,  was  scarcely 
a  greater  calamity  than  the  partial  loss  of  hearing  was  to 
Capt.  Murray.  Nelson  had  one  eye  remaining  to  descry 
the  enemy,  and  one  arm  left  to  wield  his  sword  ;  but  Mur- 
ray could  not  distinctly  hear  the  deserved  applauses  of  his 
friends,  or  the  mysterious  whispering  of  his  enemies — for 
such  a  man  will  always  have  them. 

The  approbation  of  Washington,  the  Commander  in 
Chief, — of  Putnam,  his  chief  Commander  at  Flatbush,  and 
of  Smallwood,  his  immediate  commander,  all  evidenced 
by  promoting  him  to  a  Captaincy,  was  a  volume  of  com- 
mendation. 

Had  Capt.  Murray  retired  from  the  army  with  such  a 
rank — obtained  for  such  services, — from  such  exalted  men, 
it  would  have  been  announced  at  his  death  that  he  was  an 
HtRo  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution. 

But  Murray  knew  that  his  countrymen  had  "  passed  the 
Rubicon  ;"  and  although  but  a  youth  of  twenty-one,  he 
was  resolved  to  face  the  enemy,  until  the  last  glimmering 
of  hope  from  resistance  was  extinguished — then  sullenly  to 
retire  before  them,  fighting  as  he  retired  ;  and,  when  he 
had  reached  the  utmost  verge  of  the  land  of  liberty,  that 
place  should  be  his  sepnlchre. 

He  continued  in  the  service  of  the  American  army,  until 
the  close  of  the  campaign  of  1777,  embracing,  from  the 
time  he  entered  it,  to  that  period,  the  most  gloomy,  des- 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURRAY.  263 

pairing,  and  desperate  period,  of  the  unequal  contest  be- 
tween the  infant  colonies  of  America,  and  the  kingdom  of 
Great  Britain,  probahly  when  he  entered  into  it, — during 
the  progress  of  it,  and  to  the  close  of  it,  the  most  powerful 
kingdom  in  Europe. 

During  the  two  campaigns  of '76  and  '77,  Captain  Mur. 
ray  was  always  at  the  post  of  duty  and  of  danger,  as  a  sol- 
dier ;  but  he  impatiently  awaited  the  time  when  he  could 
resume  his  station  of  Lieutenant,  as  an  ocean-combatant. 

The  service  he  had  to  perform  when  in  the  army,  as  was 
that  of  all  the  officers  and  soldiers  in  those  two  desponding 
years,  was  more  arduous  and  dangerous,  than  during  any 
other  period  of  the  revolutionary  struggle. 

They  not  only  had  to  contend  against  the  best  disciplined 
troops  which  Europe  could  produce,  but  they  suffered  all 
the  wants,  privations,  sicknesses,  and  despair  which  an  ill 
appointed  camp  invariably  occasions. 

There  was  scarce  any  arrangement  that  would  make  an 
American  officer  of  18-23  think  of  a  Quarter-master,  Com- 
missary, or  Hospital  Department. 

In  addition  to  these  disheartening  circumstances,  that  ef- 
feminate, nerveless,  heartless  race  of  beings  called  then  by 
a  name,  which  is  now  almost  synonimous  with  traitor, — the 
American  tories,  were  an  annoyance  to  the  American 
troops,  worse,  if  worse  could  be,  than  the  arms  of  a  foreign 
enemy  in  the  field  of  battle,  or  the  ravages  of  want  and  dis- 
ease in  the  camp.  But,  as  the  clemency  of  the  American 
government  then  spared  them,  let  them  now  be  remember- 
ed only  with  indignant  and  contemptuous  pity. 

Of  the  many  thousand  patriotic  Americans  who  aided  in 
the  holy  cause  of  freedom,  in  the  city  of  New  York  and 
its  vicinity  ;  more  became  victims  in  British  prison  ships 


264  NAVAL  HEROES. 

■ — by  the  predatory  incursions  of  tories  and  cow-boys,  (not 
meaning  the  stern  unyielding  patriots,  Williams,  Van 
Wert,  and  Paulding,  who  captured  Andre,)  and  also  by  un- 
wholesome food  and  want  of  medical  aid,  than  ever  fell  by 
the  arms  of  the  enemy  in  open  contest.* 

Capt.  Murray,  besides  the  serious  injury  sustained  by 
the  explosion  at  the  battery  in  New- York,  was  so  much 

*  The  writer,  Dot  having'  been  born  until  the  close  of  the  War  of 
the  Revolution,  hopes  to  be  indulged  with  a  brief  note,  to  allude  to 
circumstances  relating  to  his  immediate  connections ,  detailed  to  him 
by  the  surviving  veterans  of  that  awful  contest. 

In  1777,  Gen  Putnam,  from  incessant  anxiety  and  exertions  as 
Commander  of  the  most  important  post  between  the  armies  of  Sir 
Henry  Clinton  and  General  Burgoyne,  was  seized  with  sickness,  as  a 
prelude  to  the  paralytic  shock,  which  afterwards  suddenly  prostrated 
one  half  of  his  powerful  frame.  His  Head  Quarters  were  near  West 
Point,  where  the  Military  Academy,  and  Fort  Putnam  are  now  situa- 
ted. Major  (now  Col)  Daniel  Putnam,  his  son,  his  constant  aid,  and 
unlimited  confidant,  endured  the  excessive  fatigue  attached  to  his 
office,  and  the  anxiety  of  a  son  for  a  sick  father.  Doctor  Albigence 
Waldo, — the  intimate  of  Gen.  Putnam — the  principal  surgeon  of  his 
division — and  afterwards  his  eulogist  at  his  grave,  by  perpetual  pro- 
fessional labour,  in  attending  upon  his  sick,  and  dyiDg  comrades,  was 
reduced  almost  to  the  grave  himself.  Mr.  Samuel  Waldo,  (son  in 
law  to  Gen.  Putnam,)  and  a  non-commissioned  officer  in  his  division, 
beheld  more  than  one  half  of  the  company  to  which  he  was  attached, 
carried  corpses  from  their  beds  of  straw  to  the  grave,  expecting  every 
hour  to  follow  his  departed  companions  to  the  common  grave  of  the 
soldier. 

Such  tales  of  distress,  made  an  impression  upon  the  mind  of  the 
writer,  in  very  early  years  which  become  more  deepened  as  he  ad- 
vances in  life.  How  must  the  hearts  of  the  present  race  of  Ameri- 
cans, glow  with  admiration,  when  they  know,  that  amidst  this  army  of 
calamities,  as  well  as  amidst  an  army  of  foreign  and  domestic  foes,  not 
a  murmur  was  heard  but  against  the  common  enemy — not  an  execra- 
tion was  uttered  but  against  the  barbarous  banditti  of  Tories  and  Cow 
boys. 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURRAY.  26$ 

affected  in  his  health,  as  to  render  it  indispensably  neces- 
sary for  him  to  retire  for  a  season  to  the  hospitable  man- 
sion of  Dr.  Murray,  his  father,  in  Chestertown. 

Happy  for  him  was  it  that  he  had  such  a  refuge  from  the 
"  peltings  of  the  pitiless  storms"  which  he  had  for  twenty- 
four  tedious  months,  endured. 

But  "  pitiful,  wondrous  pitiful"  like  the  sufferings  of 
Othello,  was  the  destiny  of  many  war-worn  and  veteran 
officers  and  soldiers,  whose  frames  had  been  mutilated  by 
wounds, — emaciated  by  want  of  food, — uncovered  for  want 
of  clothing — and  debilitated  by  hard  service  and  wasting 
sickness,  when  wandering  towards  their  distant  homes 
through  a  country  swarming  with  tories,  more  merciless 
than  the  king  of  terrors,  or  with  avaricious  tavern  keepers, 
whose  pendant  signs,  perhaps  with  the  face  of  Washington, 
Putnam,  Warren,  Montgomery,  or  Greene,  upon  them,  to 
induce  the  war-worn  veteran  to  enter  for  refreshment  and 
repose — for  which  these  harpies  extorted  from  them,  per- 
haps the  whole  avails  of  a  campaign,  for  twenty-four  hour:? 
rest,  and  a  small  pittance  of  food. 

Many  overgrown  estates  in  the  country  were  begun  in 
this  way  ;  and  the  present  holders  of  them  roll  in  wealth 
and  splendour  upon  the  hard-earned  gains  of  the  veterans 
of  the  revolution  ;  and  who  would  now  spurn  from  their 
doors  these  few  surviving  heroes,  unless  their  pockets  were 
lined  with  the  pension  money  from  government,  obtained 
fcr  them  by  one  of  the  wounded  Heroes  of  Trenton,  James 
Monroe. 

Capt.  Murray,  as  soon  as  his  health  would  permit,  resum- 
ed his  station  in  the  navy :  and  although  there  was  no  go- 
vernment vessel  of  suitable  force  for  him  as  first  lieutenant: 
and  as  the  grade  of  Master  Commandant  was  not  then  es- 
tablished ;  he  urgently  solicited  some  immediate  command. 


266  NAVAL  HEROES. 

He  had  become  well  acquainted  with  the  enemy  by  two 
years'  constant  service  in  the  army.  He  had  seen  them  di- 
vest themselves  of  the  noble  sentiment  of  the  ancient  Sax- 
on>  from  whom  they  derive  their  origin,  and  assume  the  fe- 
rocious character  of  Goths. 

His  whole  soul  was  enthusiastically  alive  in  the  sacred 
cause  of  his  country,  of  liberty,  and  of  man.  Inaction  to 
him,  was  next  to  despair. 

The  Marine  Committee,  for  there  was  then  no  Navy 
Department  organized  as  it  now  is,  selected  Lieutenant 
Murray  to  command  a  Letter  of  Marque. 

The  Oid  Congress  confirmed  the  appointment;  for  the 
congress,  then  as  a  body,  discharged  nearly  all  the  various 
duties  which  are  now  discharged  in  the  various  departments 
of  the  Treasury,  War,  and  Navy,  and  as  to  the  "  Depart- 
ment of  State,"  that  consisted  ostensibly  of  Charles 
Thomson,*  whose  counter-signature  to  that  of  "  President 

*  It  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  some  readers  to  learn,  that  the 
venerable  Secretary  of  the  Old  Congress  still  survives;  and  that  at 
his  retired  mansion  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia,  he  has  occupied 
much  of  his  time  in  latter  years,  in  translating  the  whole  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testament,  and,  with  the  utmost  care  and  scrupulous  accura- 
cy, revising  the  proof  sheets  as  they  issued  from  the  press,  when  his 
translation  was  printed  in  four  volumes.  A  perusal  of  that  translation 
would  be  interesting  in  this  age  of  Biblical  criticism.  It  is  however  to 
be  regretted  that  this  "  Octogenarian"  did  not  occupy  the  same  time 
in  giving  outlines  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Old  Congress.  We  have, 
to  be  sure,  his  official  signature  to  the  most  important  Acts,  Resolu- 
tions, Recommendations,  &c.  &c.  of  the  18th  century— But  we  want 
detail,  minutce,  incidents,  characters,  in  the  Army,  JSavy,  &c.  from 
such  a  source.  The  exalted  Secretary,  in  his  exalted  employ  of 
translating  the  Bible,  may  be  in  danger  of  being  remembered  with  such 
sacrilegious  translators  as  Hone,  &c.  in  Great- Britain,  who  by  Mr. 
Gilford  is  called  "  The  mocker  of  his  God,  the  rude  scorner  of  his 
Savieur,  the  buffoon  parodist  of  Holy  Writ — the  cold  blooded,  heartless, 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURRAY.  267 

of  Congress"  operated  upon  American  officers  much  more 
forcibly  than  does  the  amulet  and  charm  upon  Mahometans. 

To  see  the  names  of  Peyton  Rudolph,  Juhi\  Hancock, 
Henry  Laurens,  Jonathan  Trumbull,  &c.  with  Secre- 
tary Thomson's  upon  the  same  parchment,  was  a  pledge 
that  those  who  carried  this  evidence,  were  true  to  their 
country  ;  and  what  must  forever  excite  wonder,  but  one 
officer  of  any  considerable  grade,  ever  proved  to  be  false, 
and  he  was  the  once  gallant,  but  afterwards  the  disappoint- 
ed, revengeful,  diabolical,  and  traitorous  Benedict  Arnold. 

While  1  feel  a.  pride  as  a  native  citizen  of  Connecticut, 
whose  ancestors  were  true  to  their  country,  and  evidenced 
their  fidelity  by  leading  and  joining  the  embattled  ranks  of 
the  Republic — when  I  remember  that  that  little  beloved 
and  patriotic  state  furnished  double  her  proportion  of  sol- 
diers, and  treble  her  quota  of  officers  in  the  army — when 
it  is  not  forgotten  that  she  furnished  Major  Gen.  Israel 
Putnam — Major  Gen.  Parsons, — Major  Gen.  Huntington — 
Brig.  Gen.  Wocster,  Col.  Trumbull,  Col.  Allen,  Col.  Hum- 
phreys, Col.  Knowlton,  Col.  Grosvenor,  Col.  Chester, 
Maj.  Daniel  Putnam,  Maj.  Pierce  and  others  of  inferior 
grade,  but  probably  of  equal  valour  ; — and  that  in  the  Na- 
vy she  furnished  Capt.  Harden,  Capt.  Tryon,  &c.  as  enga- 
ged in  the  same  cause  with  Alexander  Murray,*  all  of 
whom  distinguished  themselves — while  this  gallant  cata- 
logue is  looked  upon  with  a  laudable  pride,  with  the  very 
extremity  of  mortification  is  it  remembered  that  Arnold 

malicious  infidel,  who  labours  day  and  night  to  rob  the  sick  of  their 
consolations  of  religion,  and  the  dying  of  their  hopes  of  immortality." 

*  In  the  war  of  '98  with  France,. of  1803  and  4  wifch  Tripoli,  and  in 
1812  with  Britain,  Connecticut  also  produced  Isaac  Hull,  Isaac  Chaun- 
cey  and  Charles  Morris, 


m  NAVAL  HEROEb. 

also  was  a  native  of  Connecticut.*  His  galiantry  at  Que- 
bec and  Saratoga  ivas  tarnished,  yea,  obliterated  by  his 
treason  at  West- Point,  and  his  barbarity  in  Virginia  and  at 
Groton  and  New-London  in  Connnecticut.  The  mental 
happiness  he  once  derived  from  integrity  and  patriotism, 
was  converted  to  anguish  of  heart  for  his  treason.! 

*  Since  the  above  was  in  type,  the  Author  has  been  informed,  by 
good  authority,  that  Arnold  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey. 

f  While  the  detested  Arnold  was  plotting  "  treason,  stratagems, 
and  spoils"  at  West  Point,  the  most  important  inland  post  in  Ameri- 
ca, the  Father  of  the  Republic,  the  now  sainted  Washington,  was  in 
council  at  Hartford,  Con.  at  the  residence  of  the  patriotic  Jeremiah 
Wadsworth,  devising  measures  of  defence  and  offence  against  the 
enemy,  with  Gen.  Knox,  and  other  American  officers,  together  with 
Count  Rochambeau,  Admiral  Tern  ay,  and  Marquis  De  la  Fayette. 
The  treason  was  announced  by  that  consummate  general,  Nathan- 
iel Greene,  in  General  Orders. 

Orange  Town,  Sept.  26,  1780. 

Treason,  of  the  blackest  die,  was  yesterday  discovered.  General 
Arnold,  who  commanded  at  West  Point,  lost  to  every  sentiment  of  ho- 
nour, of  private  and  public  obligation,  was  about  to  deliver  up  that 
important  post  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Such  an  event  must  have 
given  the  American  cause  a  deadly  wound,  if  not  a  fatal  stab  ;  happi- 
ly, the  treason  has  been  timely  discovered  to  prevent  the  fatal  misfor- 
tune. The  providential  train  of  circumstances  which  leads  to  it,  af- 
fords the  most  convincing  proof  the  liberties  of  America  are  the 
object  of  Divine  Protection.  At  the  same  time  the  treason  is  to  be 
regretted,  the  General  cannot  help  congratulating  the  army  on  the 
happy  discovery. 

Our  enemies,  despairing  of  carrying  their  point  by  force,  are  prac- 
tising every  base  act  to  effect  by  bribery  and  corruption,  what  they 
cannot  accomplish  in  a  manly  way. 

Great  honour  is  due  to  the  American  army,*  that  this  is  the  first  in- 
stance of  treason  of  this  kind,  where  many  were  to  be  expected  from 
the  nature  of  the  dispute,  and  nothing  is  so  bright  an  ornament  in  the 
character  of  the  American  soldiers,  as  their  having  been  proof  against 
all  the  arts  and  seductions  of  an  insidious  enemy. 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURRAY.  269 

The  reader  is  now  respectfully  invited  to  leave  the  gal- 
lant Murray  as  a  Captain  in  the  army,  and  follow  the  wri- 
ter in  attempting  to  portray  his  no  less,  and,  if  possible,  his 
more  brilliant  career,  from  a  lieutenant,  to  the  senior  Post 
Captain  and  Commodore  in  the  American  navy. 

In  the  narrative  thus  far,  it  was  totally  impossible  to 
avoid  noticing  events  in  which  he  was  an  actor,  and  indi- 
viduals with  whom  he  acted.  Indeed,  history  and  biogra- 
phy are  like  twin  brothers,  and  as  they  were  produced  to- 
gether by  nature,  so  history  and  biography  must  travel 
hand  in  hand  ;  and,  to  make  a  quotation  from  '  The  word,' 
which  never  should  be  quoted  with  levity — "  Can  two  walk 
together  unless  they  are  agreed  ?" 

In  his  Letter  of  Marque,  Capt.  Murray  made  his  pas- 
sage into  the  Atlantic  ocean  ;  and,  in  the  midst  of  an  im- 
placable, boastful,  and  imperious  enemy,  fought  "  various 
battles  with  various  success." 

To  give  a  particular  detail  of  all  his  services---of  all  his 
rencontres — of  all  his  dangers,  and  all  his  escapes,  would 

Gen.  Washington,  who  by  the  direction  of  Congress,  reprimanded 
Arnold,  even  before  his  treason,  says,  after  he  had  committed  it—"  1 
am  mistaken,  if  at  this  time,  Arnold  is  not  undergoing-  the  torments  of 
a  mental  hell." 

When  upon  his  expedition  against  Virginia,  he  had  a  Virginian 
captain  as  prisoner,  whom  he  asked — "What  would  the  Americans  do 
with  me  if  they  should  take  me  ?"  The  noble  Virginian,  worthy  of  the 
btate  that  produced  Washington,  answered—"  They  would  first  cut 
off  that  lame  leg,  which  was  wounded  in  the  cause  of  freedom  and 
virtue  [at  Quebec]  and  bury  it  with  the  honours  of  war ;  and  after- 
wards hang  the  remainder  of  your  body  in  gibbets."     But  let  us  dis- 
miss the  disgusting  subject,  and  of  all  traitors  say,  with  the  Prince 
of  the  drama- 
Why  let  the  stricken  deer  go  weep, 
The  hart  itngalled play. 
36 


270  NAVAL  HEROES. 

be  so  similar  with  those  previously  attempted  in  this  vol- 
ume, that  it  would  be,  to  readers,  like  "  tales  twice  told 
to  the  ears  of  a  drowsy  man." 

Suffice  it  to  say,  that  as  long  as  he  sailed  under  the '  Con- 
tinental Flag,'  he  acted  worthy  of  the  glorious  cause  in 
which  he  patriotically  engaged  ;  and  advanced  in  reputa- 
tion, as  his  country  advanced  towards  the  conclusion  of  the 
glorious  struggle  for  independence. 

After  a  long,  laborious,  and  incessant  course  of  service, 
the  persevering  Lieutenant,  near  Newfoundland,  encoun- 
tered an  enemy's  armed  ship,  of  about  equal  force  to  his 
own. 

After  a  determined  contest  for  victory,  the  proud  Briton 
struck  to  the  undaunted  American. 

Murray's  ship  was  encumbered  by  prisoners  equal  in 
number  to  his  own  crew,  and  manifested  strong  indications 
of  attempting  a  re-capture.  But  the  Lieutenant  bore 
away  for  a  port  in  France,  with  his  prize  in  company,  un- 
til his  hopes  of  landing  with  it  were  blasted,  and  his  soli- 
citude for  his  prisoners  was  relieved  by  being  himself, 
together  with  his  officers  and  crew,  his  ship  and  his  prize, 
captured  by  a  British  fleet,  and  all  were  carried  into  New- 
York,  then  in  possession  of  Sir  William  Howe's  army. 

This  was  the  theatre  of  the  once  gallant  Capt.  Murray's 
military  career.  He  now  found  himself,  by  pursuing  his 
naval  profession,  a  prisoner  to  an  overwhelming  naval 
force. 

But  the  time  had  come  when  imperious  Britain  began 
to  treat  her  rebel  children  in  her  possession  as  prisoners 
of  war  ;  and  to  extend  to  them  the  rights  belonging  to  ci- 
vilized nations. 

Lieut.  Murray  was  not  incarcerated  in  the  Jersey  pris* 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURRAY.  271 

on-ship,  once  "  a  floating,"  but  here  a  stationary,  "  hell  of 
Old  England,"  in  which  thousands  of  his  gallant  country- 
men had  perished  as  the  victims  in  the  cause  of  freedom. 

If  the  reader  has  condescended  to  peruse  the  preceding 
sketch  of  Com.  Biddle,  he  will  recollect  the  measures  pur- 
sued by  that  noble  hero  of  the  revolution — by  the  Old 
Congress,  and  by  Gen.  Washington,  to  insure  proper  treat- 
ment to  one  of  his  lieutenants  by  the  name  of  Josiah.* 

Powerful  as  Britain  was,  and  feeble  as  she  imagined  the 
"  rebel  colonies"  to  be,  she  began  to  be  deterred — yes,  de- 
terred, from  treating  American  prisoners  with  b'arbarity, 
lest  their  government  should  resort  to  the  lex  talionis. 

Capf.  Murray  Avas  paroled — visited  his  admiring  friends 
in  Philadelphia,  and  was  soon  after  exchanged  for  a  British 
prisoner  of  equal  rank  with  himself. 

Although  he  had  been  commandant  of  a  number  of  well 
appointed  letters  of  marque,  yet  he  expressed  the  deepest 
anxiety  to  enter  as  a  subordinate  officer,  on  board  of  a  con- 
tinental frigate. 

That  heroic  and  consummate  officer,  and  gallant  warrior 
in  the  cause  of  his  country,  Capt.  James  Nicholson,  had 
been  for  some  time  the  victorious  commander  of  the  Fri- 
gate Trumbull. 

Believing  that  the  reader  will  be  gratified  with  a  brief 
account  of  an  engagement  between  this  frigate  and  a  supe- 
rior ship  of  war,  before  Murray  entered  her,  I  present  it  as 
published  in  a  Boston  Gazette,  of  June  15,  1780. 

"  Yesterday  arrived  here  the  Continental  frigate  Trum- 
bull from  a  cruise,  James  Nicholson,  Esq.  commander,  who 
on  Friday  the  2d  inst.  in  lat.  45,  Ion.  64  10,  had  an  engage- 

*  See  sketch  of  Biddle,  where  the  particulars  relating  to  lieutenant 
Josiah,  and  Capt.  Cunningham,  are  detailed. 


272  NAVAL  HEROES. 

ment  with  a  British  ship  of  36  twelve  and  sis  pounders. 
The  action  was  close  and  severe,  and  supported  with  great 
gallantry  by  the  Captain,  officers  and  company  of  the 
Trumbull,  against  the  superior  force  of  the  enemy,  for 
five  glasses,  when  both  ships  were  equally  disposed  to  part, 
the  Trumbull  having  all  her  masts  wounded  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  render  it  impossible  for  her  to  continue  the  en- 
gagement, and  the  British  ship  in  a  situation  equally  unfit 
for  it.  In  ten  minutes  after  the  action  ceased,  the  Trum- 
bull lost  her  main  and  mizen  topmasts  within  musket  shot 
of  the  cliemy,  which  they  took  no  notice  of,  and  soon  lost 
her  main  and  mizen  masts.  The  masts  of  the  British  ship 
were  left  in  a  tottering  condition,  and  it  is  supposed,  must 
be  gone.  She  was  hulled  in  many  places,  all  her  pumps 
going,  hove  over  many  dead  ;  and,  it  is  presumed,  she  suf- 
fered more  than  the  Trumbull,  and  must  have  struck  to 
her,  if  the  Trumbull  had  not  unfortunately  sustained  the 
loss  of  her  masts.  The  Trumbull  had  8  men  killed,  and 
31  wounded,  six  of  whom  have  since  died  of  their  wounds  ; 
among  the  latter  was  Daniel  Starr,  the  third  Lieutenant. 
The  British  ship  appeared  to  be  bound  to  Charlestown  ; 
but,  as  no  questions  were  asked,  and  the  action  commenced 
without  ceremony,  her  name  or  destination  are  unknown." 

As  much  as  the  American  reader  has  been  astonished  at 
the  almost  miraculous  effect  of  American  naval  gunnery  in 
the  splendid  triumphs  of  our  navy  in  the  second  war  with 
Britain,  yet  if  the  combats  in  the  first,  were  as  well  known 
as  those  in  the  last,  they  might  well  excite  equal  wonder. 
Witness  the  Richard  and  Seraphis — the  Randolph  and  Yar- 
mouth— the  Protector  and  Admiral  Duff,  the  one  just  de- 
tailed, and  to  which  another  will  now  be  added. 

Such  a  commander  as  Nicholson,  and  such  a  ship  as  the 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURRAY.  273 

Trumbull,*  were  well  fitted  for  such  an  officer  as  Murray, 
and  he  entered  her  as  first  lieutenant. 

As  soon  as  the  Trumbull  was  fitted  for  sea,  a  most  gallant 
band  of  officers  and  seamen  were  ready,  and  anxious  to 
catch  the  first  favouring  breeze  that  would  waft  her  along 
side  of  any  hostile  sail  of  equal  force,  that  would  presume 
to  point  her  guns  at  this  "  rebel  Frigate"  named  after  the 
"  Rebel  Governor  of  Connecticut." 

Capt.  Murray,  as  lieutenant  on  board  the  Trumbull,  al- 

*  This  frigate  was  named  after  Jonathan  Trumbull,  of  Connec- 
ticut, president  of  Congress,  and  the  first  of  that  name,  governor  of 
Connecticut.  His  son,  the  renowned  historical  painter,  who  is  now, 
1 1823)  in  the  employ  of  Congress,  delineating,  and  painting,  historical 
views  of  the  most  interesting  events  of  the  Revolution,  was  imprisoned 
in  London  during  that  war,  in  consequence  of  the  following  "  word  to 
the  wise,"  from  a  "  loyal  American,"  alias,  an  American  tory.  He 
did  not  perish  in  the  "  conflagration,"  as  appears  from  a  note  announ- 
cing his  arrival  in  America.  He  returned  to  London  after  the  peace, 
and  there  finished  his  "  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill,"  and  the  "  conflagra 
tion  of  Charleston." 

From  the  London  Morning  Post,  August  17. 

"  As  a  loyal  American,  and  a  friend  to  the  best  of  kings,  I  think  it 
my  duty  through  the  channel  of  your  paper,  to  inform  administration, 
that  there  are  arrived  in  this  city,  two  Americans  (via  Holland)  and 
the  one  is  son  to  the  rebel  Governor]-  of  Connecticut ;  the  latter  an  in- 
habitant of  Boston,  INew  England,  and  a  Major  in  a  rebel  regiment, 
by  the  name  of  Massachusetts.  \  If  such  persons  are  suffered  to  be  at 
liberty  in  England,  another  conflagration  may  soon  happen.— A  word 
to  the  wise  is  sufficient. 

Your  humble  servant, 

J T— PLE. 

f  Mr.  John  Trumbull. 

|  John-Steel  Tyler. 

"  I  have  the  pleasure  to  acquaint  you,  that  Governor  Trumbull'.'; 
son,  who  was  a  prisoner  in  England,  is  arrived  at  Falmouth,  Casco- 
Bay,  and  a  number  of  vessels  from  Holland."       • 


274  NAVAL  HEROES. 

though  not  first  in  command,  yet,  being  next  to  the  first,  a 
very  important  duty  devolved  upon  him.  The  reputation 
of  his  commander,  as  well  as  the  fame  of  the  ship,  from 
previous  achievements,  inspired  him  with  a  restless  emu- 
lation to  identify  his  name  with  both. 

The  Trumbull  sailed  about  the  middle  of  August,  17ol, 
to  convoy  a  fleet  of  merchantmen  to  the  Havanna. 

It  was  (he  last  cruise  she  ever  made  under  American 
colours  ;  and  probably  the  last  she  made  under  any  col- 
ours. 

Flushed  far  more  with  hopes  of  victory  over  some  of 
the  boasted  "  wooden  walls  of  Old  England"  than  over 
rich  transports  or  merchantmen,  which  would  swell  their 
cotFers  with  prize  money,  the  gallant  and  daring  Nichol- 
son, with  officers  and  sailors,  daring  and  gallant  as  himself, 
bore  away  for  the  Capes  of  Delaware  with  his  convoy. 

Lieut.  Murray  was  as  familiar  with  these  waters  as  the 
village  swain  is  with  the  rivulets  and  fish-ponds  of  his  dis- 
trict, and  as  fearlessly  wafted  towards  the  station  of  the 
powerful  foe,  as  he  angles  for  the  finny  tribe.     But, 
"  A  storm  was  nigh — an  unsuspected  storm." 

Scarcely  had  the  Trumbull  cleared  the  dangerous  Capes 
before  she  was  struck  with  a  most  violent  gale  of  wind. 
To  this,  in  rapid  succession  followed  the  most  tremendous 
peals  of  thunder,  and  momently  succeeded  by  gleaming 
chains  of  lightning,  which  increased  the  horrors  of  the  sur- 
rounding darkness. 

The  ship  was  severely  injured  in  her  spars,  and  rigging  ; 
and  needed  a  port  to  refit.  But,  such  is  the  fate  of  naval 
warfare,  the  war  of  the  elements  which  was  rending  the 
tackle  of  the  Trumbull  asunder,  was  also  precipitating  her 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURRAY.  275 

into  a  host  of  foes,  though  less  powerful,   more  malignant 
than  the  elements  themselves. 

The  darkness  was  so  intense,  that  no  sail  could  be  des 
cried,  until   the  gale  had  somewhat  abated.      Capt.  Nich- 
olson then  discovered  that  his  ship   was  close  along  side 
H.  B.  Majesty's  Frigate  the  Iris  of  33  guns,  and  Sloop  of 
War  Monk,  of  18  guns  !  ! 

The  phlegmatic  calculator  of  chances  would  perhaps 
gravely  declare  that  Capt.  Nicholson  ought  immediately 
to  have  lowered  his  flag.  But  amongst  his  officers  were 
Lieut.  Murray,  and  Lieut.  Dale,*  who,  like  their  com- 
mander, took  no  counsel  from  fear,  were  ready  to  enter 
into  the  contest. 

Instantly  all  hands  were  beat  to  quarters,  and  with  fear- 
less promptitude  repaired  to  them.  The  sea  was  still  in 
terrible  commotion  from  the  gale,  and  the  rival  ships  went 
furiously  into  action.  The  combat  was  long  and  doubtful, 
and  the  first  signal  of  a  cessation  of  it,  was  the  extinguish- 
ment of  the  battle-lanterns  of  the  Iris,  which  enveloped  her 
again  in  darkness. 

The  exulting  victors  were  about  to  board  the  Iris,  as  a 
prize,  when  the  Monk,  which  had  before  taken  but  little 
part  in  the  action,  gained  a  raking  position — run  directly 
under  the  stern  of  the  Trumbull,  which  was  almost  bat- 
tered to  pieces,  and  poured  into  her  a  succession  of  raking 
broadsides. 

In  this  dreadful  situation — the  ship  unmanageable — 
Lieuts.  Murray  and  Dale  severely  wounded,  and  more  than 
one  third  of  the  crew  killed  or  bleeding  upon  the  deck,  or 
in  the  cockpit,  Capt.  Nicholson,  cool  and  collected,  low 
ered  the  flag  of  the  gallant  little  Trumbull. 

*  Afterwards  the  justly  respected  and  valiant  Com.  Dale, 


-J76  NAVAL  HEROES. 

She  was  towed  into  New- York,  a  useless  wreck,-r-and 
object  of  curiosity — a  hard  earned  trophy  of  the  prowess 
of  Britain  ! 

As  her  name  does  not  appear  in  the  "  List  of  the  Royal 
Navy"  of  the  "  Queen  of  the  Ocean,"  she  is  probably  in 
the  same  state  (allowing  for  the  decay  of  a  third  of  a  cen- 
tury) as  the  Chesapeake,  Essex,  and  President  frigates, 
which  like  the  "Continental  frigate"  Trumbull,  were  so 
gallantly  defended  against  superior  force  as  to  render  them 
better  fitted  for  the  situation  of  the  once  British  frigates, 
the  Guerriere,  and  Java,  and  the  British  Sloops  of  War, 
Peacock,  and  Penguin  ! 

Capt.  Murray  might  have  said,  in  regard  to  this  action, 
as  he  did,  as  President  of  the  Court  Martial,  in  1 8 1 5,  which 
tried  the  lamented  Decatur,  for  surrendering  the  frigate 
President  to  a  squadron,  after  conquering  the  Endymion, 
"  The  enemy  gained  a  ship — the  Victory  was  ours." 

After  languishing  with  his  wounds — fortunately  (for  his 
country)  surviving  them,  and  obtaining  an  exchange,  Lieut. 
Murray,  was  solicited  by  the  government  of  The  Colonies, 
(for  so  the  British  continued  to  call  Congress  to  that  time, 
1731,)  to  be  First  Lieutenant,  of  the  Continental  frigate, 
Alliance.* 

This  ship  was  for  some  time  upon  the  coast  of  Britain, 
and  belonged  to  Com.  Jones'  squadron,  when  the  memora- 
ble engagement  between  the  Good  Man  Richard,  and  the 
Seraphis  occurred. 

When  Lieut.  Murray  entered  her,  she  was  commanded 
by  Capt.  Barry,  one  of  the  earliest  "  Naval  Heroes  of  the 

*  This  frigate  was  so  named  from  the  Treaty  of  Amity  and  "  Alli- 
ance," between  America  and  Louis  XVI.  and  belonged  to  the  squad- 
ron of  Com.  .Tone?.     See  "  Sketch  of  Jones." 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURRAY.  277 

Revolution,"  and  who,  through  a  great  variety  of  grades, 
and  a  long  succession  of  important  services,  became  the 
senior  Commodore  of  the  American  navy. 

The  revolutionary  services  of  Capt.  Barry,  and  Capt. 
Murray,  (acting  as  lieutenant,)  were  now  drawing  towards 
a  close  ;  and  it  would  be  useless  to  tell  what  these  gallant 
officers  "  might  have  done"  had  not  the  proud,  and  hith- 
erto unconquered  "  King  of  England,"  sued  for  peace  with 
his  "  Rebel  Colonies." 

George  III.  was  happy  to  give  a  quit  claim  deed  to  his 
tenants  in  America,  in  1783,  and  to  suffer  them  to  be 
"  Lords  of  the  Manor  ;"  and,  by  the  Treaty  of  Ghent,  in 
1815,  he  very  nearly  promised  to  "  warrant  and  defend 
the  premises." 

His  son,  then  "  Prince  Regent,"  now  George  IV.  may 
rest  assured  that  if  Americans  surrender  the  Rupublic,  the 
surrendry  will  be  made  to  a  power  "  more  powerful"  than 
the  United  Kingdoms  of  Great  Britain  and  her  dependen- 
cies. 

Peace,  "  with  healing  in  her  wings"  now  shed  her  be- 
nign influence  over  the  "  Free,  Sovereign,  and  Independ- 
ent American  Republic."  The  clarion  of  war,  which  for 
seven  years  of  sanguinary  contest,  had  echoed  from  the  em- 
battled hosts  of  Republican  soldiers,  and  from  the  floating 
bulwarks  of  Republican  seamen,  was  now  succeeded  by 
the  harmonious  "concords  of  sweet  sounds-"  Th»e  Olive 
Branch  waved  tranquilly  over  the  swelling  hills  and  fertile 
vallies,  where  late  the  unfurled  banners  of  hostile  foe? 
challenged  to  combat. 

A  grateful,  a  protected,  an  emancipated  people,  raptur 
ously  embraced  the  peerless  champions  of  their  national 
salvation. 

37 


•7i  NAVAL  HEROES. 

Conspicuous  in  (he  midst  of  this  band  of  matchless  war 
riors,  stood  the  grandson  of  a  Highland  Chief.  Alexander 
Murray.  j 

If.the  immortalized  spirits  of  the' illustrious  dead  are  per- 
mitted to  blend  with  their  ceiestial  joys  a  participation  in 
the  scenes  of  terrestrial  felicity,  the  ancient  Murray,  who 
was  banished  from  the  land  of  his  fathers,  by  the  implaca- 
ble vengeance  of  the  house  of  Brunswick,  must  have  look- 
ed down  with  complacent  delight  upon  his  heroic  descend- 
ant, who  had  avenged  the  injuries  of  his  oxen  house — the 
house  of  Murray. 

Capt.  Murray  of  the  Navy,  and  Capt.  Murray  of  the  Ar- 
my, uniting  in  himself  the  gallant  soldier,  and  the  ocean- 
hero  •  and  divesting  himself  of  the  double  wreath  of  laurels 
acquired  in  both,  assumed  the  character  of  the  plain  and 
dignified  citizen  ;  proving  then,  by  his  amiable  and  unas- 
suming deportment,  that,  with  the  scars  of  honour  as  a 
warrior,  he  could  return  to  the  gentle  pursuits  of  peace 
as  a  citizen;  and  proving  afterwards  that  he  could  re-assume 
the  character  of  the  determined  warrior,  and  conduct  the 
victorious  arms  of  his  country  to  any  ocean  or  sea  where 
the  enemies  of  his  country  were  to  be  found.  It  might  be 
amusing  to  trace  the  life  of  this  early  veteran  through  the 
season  of  uninterrupted  peace,  (excepting  the  occasional 
skirmishing  with  native  savages  and  native  insurgents*) 
which  intervened  between  the  conclusion  of  the  war  of  the 
revolution,  in  1783,  and  the  commencement  of  the  naval 
warfare  with  France  in  1798.  But  his  life  is  so  exceed- 
ingly fertile  in  incidents  of  a  public  nature,  that  a  descrip- 
tion of  his  private  virtue:,  however  exalted,  would  be  like 

*  Shays'  Insurrection  in  Massachasetts,  and  the  Whisky  Rebellion 
_n  Pennsylvania. 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURRAY.  279 

the  transition  from  an  animating  breeze  that  swells  the  can- 
vas of  the  ship  upon  her  course,  clown  to  the  lifeless  calm, 
when  sleep,  the  image  of  death,  holds  dominion. 

Upon  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  every  single  vestige  of 
the  little  gallant  wonder-working  navy  of  America,  was  an- 
nihilated; or,  what  is  the  same  as  to  warlike  power,  was 
converted  into  merchantmen. 

The  same  keels,  that  for  years  had  carried  the  thunder 
of  freemen  to  the  very  shores  of  tyrants,  were  now  trans- 
porting the  productions  of  every  quarter  of  the  globe  into 
the  bosom  of  the  Republic. 

The  civil  fathers  of  the  country  knew  well  that  although 
America  was  at  the  Zenith  of  national  glory,  she  was  at  the 
Nadir  of  national  bankruptcy — that  she  was  plus  in  fame, 
that  she  was  minus  in  wealth. 

It  would  have  been  the  xevy  extremity  of  madness  to 
continue  -the  expense  of  a  naval  establishment,  when  the 
wounds  of  the  revolutionary  heroes  were  scarcely  healed  ; 
and  the  treasury  had  scarcely  coin  enough  to  defray  the 
expense  of  medicine  for  healing  them. 

The  gigantic  statesmen  of  that  portentous  period  knew 
it  was  as  difficult  to  secure,  by  constitutional,  legislative; 
judicial,  and  financial  regulations,  the  rights  and  liberties 
of  the  Republic,  as  it  had  been  to  obtain  them  by  some  of 
the  best  blood  that  flowed  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

They  acted  upon  the  great  and  exalted  principle,  that 
national  glory  would  be  more  permanently  established  by 
national  justice,  than  by  standing  armies  and  powerful 
fleets  in  time  of  peace,  requiring  a  never-ending  succession 
of  taxes  and  burthens  to  support  them. 

The  reader  will  again  excusethe  writer  for  referring  him 


280  NAVAL  HEROES. 

to  a  previous  publication,  and  for  adopting  some  hasty  re- 
marks therefrom  into  this  volume.* 

The  profound  sagacity,  and  wary  policy  of  American 
Statesmen,  who  set  the  intricate  machine  of  government  in 
operation  under  our  Republican  Constitution,  well  under- 
stood the  overwhelming  bankruptcy  in  which  the  British 
empire  was  sinking,  or  rather  sunk,  by  her  immense  naval 
force. 

They  sought  to  bestow  upon  their  Republic  richer  bles- 
sings than  the  blessing  of  na^nal  debt.  No  human  saga- 
city, however,  could,  at  that  time  foresee  that  Americaa 
commerce  would'soon  become  the  direct  road  to  suddee 
national  wealth  ;  although  they  must  have  known  that  an 
extended  commerce  could  not  long  be  protected  without  a 
naval  force,  nor  a  naval  force  be  supported  without  com- 
merce. 

England,  the  imperious,  and  then  almost  undisputed  mis- 
tress of  the  ocean,  wielding  the  trident  of  Neptune  over 
every  sea,  beheld  American  canvas  in  every  latitude. 

Her  jealousy  was  roused  ;  her  armed  ships  searched  our 
vessels  for  "  contraband  goods,"  and  impressed  our  seamen, 
and  immured  th6m  in  their  "  floating  dungeons." 

Other  petty  naval  powers,  whose  power  on  the  ocean  is 
now  merged  with  that  of  Britain,  the  real  dictator  of,  be- 
cause the  most  powerful  nation  in,  Europe,  followed  the 
example  of  aggression,  as  feeble  whappets  follow  in  the 
train  of  a  ferocious  mastiff. 

The  pride  of  American  seamen  arising  from  the  national 
glory  of  America,  acquired  in  the  glorious  revolution,  was 
compelled  to  succumb  to  the  mandate  of  every  puny  whip- 

*  Vide  Life  of  Decatur,  2d  edition,  chap.  VI.  "  National  glory  an* 
national  taxes." 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURRAY.  281 

ster  who  could  show  a  gun  upon  his  deck.  It  was  not  vol- 
untary submission,  but  submission  "  ex  necessitate  m," — 
the  necessity  of  the  case, — a  most  painful  necessity. 

The  national  resources  had  been  almost  exclusively  de- 
rived from  individual  wealth,  and  that  wealth  had  for  years 
been  committed  to  the  ocean  as  the  road  to  immediate  opu- 
lence. 

Other  nations,  which  were  contending  for  dominion  upon 
land  and  upon  water,  for  a  considerable  period,  lost  sight 
of  the  advancing  wealth,  and,  as  a  consequence,  national 
power  of  the  American  Republic. 

Contending  for  crowns  which  sat  loosely  upon  the  fear- 
ful heads  that  sustained  their  ponderous  weight,  and  dread- 
ing to  see  them  fall,  these  nations,  although  contending 
with  each  other,  seemed  to  unite  in  trying  to  blast  the 
growing  commercial  importance  of  America. 

The  Barbary  powers,  whose  corsairs  hovered  over  that 
portion  of  the  ocean  where  some  part  of  our  enterprising 
merchantmen  were  pursuing  their  lucrative  business,  plun- 
dered their  vessels,  and  made  slaves  of  their  crews.  The 
greater  commercial  nations,  with  more  power,  and  also 
with  more  humanity,  endeavoured  to  extirpate  American 
commerce,  and  check  the  rapid  progress  of  American 
wealth.  They  possessed  naval  power  ;  of  which  our  Re- 
public was  then  destitute. 

Our  patriotic  rulers,  as  soon  as  they  found  our  country  in 
possession  of  the  means  adequate  to  the  hard  task  of  sup- 
porting our  natural  rights  upon  the  ocean,  began  to  devise 
"  ways  and  means"  to  do  it. 

It  would  require  more  pages  than  the  limits  of  this  sketch 
will  admit,  to  epitomize  the  diversified  arguments  resort- 


282  NAVAL  HEROES. 

ed  to  by  the  most  eminent  of  American  statesmen,  in  favour 
of,  and  against,  an  efficient  naval  power.* 

Some  of  them  looked  upon  the  "  thousand  armed  ships" 
of  England,  and  despaired.  They  saw  also  the  Russian. 
French,  Spanish  and  Danish  fleets,  and  dismissed  all  hopes 
of  ever  coping  with  any  naval  power. 

But  Washington  was  still  alive  ;  and  guiding  the  high 
destinies  of  our  Republic  in  peace,  as  he  had  done  in  the 
war  of  the  Revolution.  His  prescience  readily  suggested 
to  his  great  and  expanded  mind,  the  indispensable  necessity 
of  a  naval  force  to  protect  our  extensive  and  extending 
commerce. 

Negotiation,  to  be  sure,  had  obtained  some  indemnifica- 
tion for  spoliations  upon  it ;  but  the  most  successful  nego- 
tiations have  always  been  made  at  the  mouth  of  the  cannon. 

Our  rulers  could  no  longer  endure  the  thought  that  our 
citizens,  who  had  sought  a  "  home  upon  the  deep,"  should 
become  victims  to  every  prince  who  could  send  out  a  few 
cruisers,  with  a  rapacious  crew.  They  were  determined 
that  American  citizens,  pursuing  a  lawful  commerce  upon 
the  ocean  should,  as  they  ought,  be  protected  there  as  well 
as  those  pursuing  lawful  business  on  land. 

This  was  not  the  gasconading  threat  of  a  nurse,  who  on- 
ly brandishes  the  rod  before  the  eyes  of  a  truant  child, 
without  daring  to  strike  ;  it  was  the  decisive  language  of  a 
parent,  having  a  right  to  command,  and  power  sufficient 
to  enforce  his  decrees. 

The  year  1794,  the  auspicious  period  which  laid  the 
foundation  of  our  present  naval  power,  ou^ht  to  be  remem- 
bered with  equal  enthusiasm  as  that  of  1776,  which  made 

*See  Journal  of  Congress,  1797,  98. 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURRAY. 

the  declaration,  and  laid  the  foundation,  for  American  Inde- 
pendence. 

The  first  keel  of  a  frigate  that  was  laid  by  our  govern- 
ment, was  the  key-stone  to  the  triumphant  arch  of  Ameri- 
can glory. 

If  fancy  might  be  indulged  upon  a  subject  which  needs; 
not  its  felicitous  aid,  we  might  see  Neptune  approaching 
our  shores,  and  surrendering  his  trident  to  the  banners  of 
Columbia,  when  (he  first  American  frigate  was  launched 
into  the  bosom  of  the  deep. 

The  writer,  then  a  boy,  may  hope  to  be  indulged  for  ex- 
pressing now,  the  enthusiasm  he  felt  when  he  beheld  the 
frigate  Constitution  launched  from  a  Boston  ship  yard. 
This  untutored  enthusiasm  was  occasioned,  not  by  knowing 
then,  the  immeasurable  power  of  a  navy,  but  from  the  im- 
mense assemblage  of  animated  citizens  who  witnessed  the 
animating  scene.  They  might  have  exclaimed  : — "  There 
is  one  of  our  protectors  upon  the  ocean  ;  while  she  swims, 
she  will  not  only  protect  our  individual  wealth,  but  she 
will  manfully  sustain  our  national  rights  upon  the  waves. r 
What  might  have  then  been  prophecy  is  now  history. 

Proceeding  with  that  caution  and  judgment  which  must 
mark  the  course  of  our  rulers,  they  authorised  the  building 
of  only  four  frigates  of  forty-four  guns,  and  two  of  thirty- 
six. 

Although  this  diminutive  force  was  hardly  sufficient  to 
defend  a  single  port  in  our  own  country,  or  to  blockade  a 
single  island  of  any  belligerant  power,  yet  the  amount  of 
the  force  was  of  a  secondary  consideration  to  the  adoption 
of  the  principle  that  a  Naval  Force  was  necessary  for  the 
defence  of  the  vast  extent  of  the  seaboard  of  the  American 
Republic,  and  for  the  convoy  and  protection  of  her  im- 
mensely extended  commerce. 


284  NAVAL  HEROES. 

For  fifteen  years,  the  naval  ardour  of  Americans,  which, 
during  the  revolutionary  struggle  elicited  such  brilliant 
sparks  of  ocean  valour,  had  been  extinguished  by  the  lu- 
crative pursuits  of  commerce — the  sordid  love  of  wealth, 
and  the  luxury  and  effeminacy  which  wealth  invariably 
produces. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  administration  of  the  political 
father  and  saviour  of  the  Republic,  Washington,  the 
younger  and  middle  aged  class  of  Americans  seemed  to 
have  degenerated  alarmingly  from  the  exalted  spirit  of 
their  ancestors  ;  who,  from  the  conclusion  of  the  "  French 
war,"  to  the  commencement  of  the  "  War  of  the  Revolu- 
tion," were  inspired  with  the  "  Amor  Patriae,"  far  more 
than  they  were  with  the  gaudy  charms  of  wealth. 

The  historian  will  never  forget,  that  the  victorious  army 
of  Hannibal  was  conquered  upon  the  plains  of  Capua 
where  there  was  no  enemy  but  luxury  ;  and  that  Rome 
herself,  having  conquered  Greece  by  arms,  was  herself 
conquered  by  the  effeminate  refinements  of  Greece  ;  and 
the  Grecians  themselves,  after  the  lapse  of  many  centuries 
of  abject  slavery,  seem  again  to  be  returning  to  the  hero- 
ism of  the  days  of  Achilles  ;  and  may  the  God  of  armies 
fire  their  souls  and  strengthen  their  arms,  till  the  Crescent 
shall  bow  to  the  banner  of  Greece. 

John  Adams,  who  with  John  Hancock,  Samuel  Adams, 
and  others,  first  began  to  rock  the  "  Cradle  of  Independ- 
ence"— who  manfully  sustained  the  majesty  of  the  warring 
colonies  in  foreign  courts,  when  alone  and  unassisted,  and 
which  defied  the  gigantic  power  of  Britain,  was  advanced, 
by  the  suffrages  of  his  countrymen,  in  1797,  to  the  chair 
which  the  exalted,  the  august,  the  almost  adored  Wash- 
ington, had  Jeff. 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURRAY.  286 

No  prince  of  the  House  of  Brunswick — of  Bourbon — of 
Braganza,  or  of  any  other  house,  or  of  any  other  realm, 
ever  ascended  a  throne  so  really  exalted,  as  the  Chair  of 
the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  American  Republic. 

And  here,  let  every  surviving  American  Murray  feel  a 
glow  of  patriotic  rapture,  that,  amongst  the  first  acts  of  the 
second  President,  was  giving  his  signature  to  the  commission 
of  Alexander  Murray  as  a  PustCaptain*  in  the  American 
navy,  and  designating  him  to  assist  in  organizing  it. 

This  early  notice  of  the  new  President,  must  have  been 
doubly  gratifying  to  Capt.  Murray,  as  it  was  an  unsolicited 
appointment — unknown  to  his  nearest  friends,  and  wholly 
unknown  and  unexpected  to  himself  till  the  moment  it  was 
announced  to  him. 

Notwithstanding  the  long  and  arduous  course  of  service 
in  the  army  and  navy,  and  the  numerous  battles  in  which 
he  had  valiantly  fought,  upon  land  and  water,  Capt.  Mur- 
ray when  called  again  into  service,  was  but  little  over  forty 
'  years  of  age. 

As  soon  as  the  French  marauders  in  the  West  Indies  laid 
aside  all  disguise,  and  began  to  prey  upon  American  com- 
merce, as  wolves  prowl  and  prey  amongst  unprotected 
flocks,  Capt.  Murray  was  ordered  to  leave  the  further 
organization  of  the  navy  to  other  hands,  and  to  conduct  a 
small  Corvette  into  the  midst  of  picaroons  (another  name 
for  buccaneers  and  pirates)  and  neither  of  them  deserving 
even  the  humble  name  of  privateersmen. 

Capt.  Murray,  in  the  Corvette  Montezuma,  with  officers 
and  a  crew  of  real  Americans,  dashed  fearlessly  amongst 
these  despoilers  of  merchant  ships ;    spread   dismay  and 

*  The  writer  is  not  positive  that  this  commmission  was  signed  by- 
Adams.     If  it  were  bv  Washington,  it  was  equally  flattering. 
38 


286  NAVAL  HEROES. 

consternation  amongst  them, — rescued  thousands,  and  per- 
haps millions  of  dollars  from  their  grasp,  and  diffused  joy 
amongst  hundreds,  and  perhaps  thousands  of  American 
merchants,  who  might  otherwise  have  been  reduced  from 
independence  to  bankruptcy. 

While  he  was  thus  securing  the  wealth  of  individuals,  he 
was  pouring  treasures  into  the  national  coffers. 

So  sensible  was  the  government  of  his  invaluable  servi- 
ces, that  Congress  passed  a  vote  of  thanks*  to  him,  and 
promoted  him  to  the  frigate  Insurgente,  which  had  been 
captured  by  Com.  Truxton. 

Before  he  had  an  opportunity  to  turn  the  guns  of  this  ship 
against  the  nation  that  built  her,  he  was  removed  to  the 
ship  that  took  her. 

Capt.  Murray  was  then  appointed  to  the  command  of 
the  frigate  Constellation  of  32  guns.  This  little  ship  had 
before  become  a  favourite  with  sailors  from  her  splendid 
victory  over  the  Le  Insurgente,  one  of  the  finest  frigates 
in  the  marine  of  France.  While  her  gallant  commander  was 
walking  upon  her  quarter  deck,  where  the  veteran  Truxton 
had  walked  and  conquered  before  him,  his  naturally  ardent 
mind  must  have  experienced  a  sort  of  extra  stimulus.  He 
felt,  if  he  did  not  express,  these  sentiments.  "  This  little 
ship  is  one  representative  of  the  power  and  energy  of  the 
American  Republic.  The  French  Republic,  once  the 
friend  of  America,  when  the  murdered  Louis  XVI,  and  his 
matchless  queen.  Maria  Antoinette  of  the  house  of  Theresa, 
wielded  the  gentle  sceptre  of  power  over  that  most  charm- 
ing portion  of  our  world,  is  now  the  deadly  enemy  of  my 

*  It  is  believed  that  this  was  the  first  and  only  vote  of  thanks  by 
Congress  for  similar  service.  Thanks  for  single  victories  hav.e  be- 
come (perhaps)  too  common. 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURRAY.  2<tf 

beloved  country.  Washington,  who  went  on  majcslicully 
conquering  and  to  conquer,  with  Fayette,  Rochambeau, 
and  Ternay,  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  resolved  that 
my  country,  which  he,  and  his  compatriots,  of  which  I  was 
one,  and  whose  commission  I  then  bore,  rescued  from  the 
despotic  power  of  the  House  of  Brunswick,  should  not  be 
overwhelmed  in  the  tremendous  vortex  of  the  French  Re- 
volution. His  prescience  enabled  him  to  fathom  the  very 
dedth  of  that  destruction  which  would  accompany  the  mo- 
dern Gauls,  when  they  tore  asunder  the  ligament  of  des- 
potism with  which  they  had  been  bound  from  the  time  of 
Clovis,  her  fiist  monarch,  to  Louis  XVI.,  her  last  and  her 
best.  He  declared  America  a  neutral  power.  Adams,  his 
successor,  now  presides  over  the  destiny  of  the  Republic, 
and  will  support,  by  an  armed  neutrality,  what  Washington 
published  as  an  edict." 

Capt.  Murray  was  as  indefatigable  in  this  ship,  as  he  was 
in  the  corvette  Montezuma,  in  extending  protection  and 
affording  convoy  to  merchantmen.  It  can  hardly  be  con- 
ceived how  an  American  Frigate  can  be  more  profitably, 
or  indeed,  more  honourably  engaged,  than  by  preserving 
the  wealthy  commerce  of  their  countrymen  from  the  ra- 
pacity of  marauders  and  picaroons,  and  their  persons  from 
imprisonment,  indignity  and  insult.  It  is  a  fact  commu- 
nicated directly  to  the  writer  from  some  of  the  present  dis- 
tinguished officers  of  the  American  navy,  who  were  then 
midshipmen  upon  the  West  India  station,  that  the  French, 
and  even  the  Spanish  officers  and  seamen,  treated  Ameri- 
cans in  their  possession  with  a  barbarism  which  would  as- 
similate the  naturally  humane  Frenchman  to  the  morose 
and  sullen  Spaniard,  and  both  of  them  to  the  malignant  and 
implacable  disciples  of  Mahomet.     This  treatment  arous 


285  NAVAL  HEROES. 

ed  all  the  latent  sparks  of  American  indignation  in  the  bo- 
som  of  Capt.  Murray,  and  his  manly  and  determined  ship's 
crew.  They  panted  for  an  opportunity  to  let  the  little 
Constellation  once  more  exhibit  her  corruscations  to  the 
boasting  Monsieurs  and  sulky  Dons.  They  knew  that  the 
gallant  Little,  in  the  Boston  frigate,  had  all  but  sent  the  La 
Burceau  to  the  bottom.  They  most  impatiently  waited 
and  sought  for  an  opportunity  to  achieve  deeds  and  gather 
laurels  of  equal  renown. 

It  would  be  a  hopeless  undertaking  to  endeavour  to  con- 
trovert the  prevalent  sentiments  of  the  sons  of  glory  who 
make  a  profession  of  arms;  and  it  would  be  deemed  arro- 
gance to  doubt  the  correctness  of  their  opinions.  Far  be  it 
from  Americans  to  entertain  even  a  thought  in  opposition 
to  that  high  sense  of  honour  and  fame,  which  inspires  the 
bosoms  of  our  noble  countrymen  in  the  navy  and  army. 
It  is  that,  that  has  pressed  them  forward  to  give  to  Ameri- 
cans a  pre-eminent  rank,  and  to  America  the  title  of  The 
only  Republic.  But  it  may  well  he  asked,  if  in  the  be- 
stowment  of  applause,  of  medals,  of  swords,  and  rewards, 
the  favourites  of  fortune  are  not  always  the  favourites  of 
the  nation  ?  In  the  naval  warfare  with  France,  the  names 
of  Truxton  and  Little,  echoed  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Mississippi — from  the  lakes  to  the  Mexican  Gulph,  while 
those  of  Com.  Decatur  the  elder,  Capt.  Murray,  Capt. 
Tryon,  and  others  whose  unceasing  assiduity  and  sleepless 
vigilance  had  swept  the  ocean  of  picaroons,  and  tilled  our 
harbours  with  richly  laden  merchantmen,  are  remembered 
only  as  "good  men  and  true,"  who  instead  of  encounter- 
ing and  conquering  an  equal  or  superior  armed  ship,  have 
only  saved  the  citizens  and  the  commerce  of  the  country 
from  the  rapacious  grasp  of  ocean  robbers. 


>M.  ALEXANDER   All  RRAY. 
Allusion  might  be  made  to  the  war  <>f  1803  ami  i.  with 

Tripoli  and  of  I  8  I  J.  w  itli  Britain  ;  but  a-  we  air  drawn 

ski  tch  of  the  venerable  veteran,  Alexander  Murra) .  to^i  arcU 
bhose  periods,  in  which  man)  ofhia  cotemporariea  acquired 
a  deathless  fame ;  and  as  many  of  them,  thank  heaven, 
still  survive,  as  the  honour  and  the  hopes  of  the  Republic, 
a  deep  solicitude  i^  fell  lesi  the  labours,  even  of  the  "hon- 
est  chronicler,"  should  be  converted  into  a  "  vehicle  of 
adulation  to  the  living  or' extravagant  eulogy  of  the  dead." 

But,  living,  Alexander  Murray  never  courted  the  ephe- 
meral adulation  of  the  day.  He  possessed  a  native  ener- 
gy of  mind  which  could  not  be  enervated  by  fulsome  praise, 
or  disheartened  by  censure  or  neglect.  And,  dead,  his 
memory  needs  not  "  extravagant  eulogy"  to  transmit  his 
name  down  to  latest  posterity  amongst  the  high  worthies  of 
Ins  species,  and  the  benefactors  of  the  Republic. 

During  the  most  sanguinary  period  of  the  naval  contest 
between  America  and  France,  the  British  had  a  considera- 
ble naval  force  on  the  West  India  station. 

The  natural  hostility  of  Britons  against  Frenchmen,  was 
heightened  by  the  tremendous  strides  that  mighty  power 
was  making  through  the  falling  kingdoms  of  Europe. 

The  unnatural  hostility  of  Britons  against  Americans, 
was  in  some  measure  lowered  by  the  splendid  victories  the} 
had  recently  gained  over  their  deadly  foe. 

The  naval  commanders  of  "  the  Queen  of  the  Ocean" 
were  compelled  to  manifes-t  at  least  an  involuntary  respect 
towards  the  American  flag. 

The.  Magnanimique,  once  a  French  ship  of  the  line  ot 
64  guns,  was  captured  and  razeed  down  to  a  British  frigatt 
of  48  guns.  She  was  able  to  sink  the  Constellation  at  a 
single  well-directed  broadside. 


>yu  NAVAL  HEROES. 

Capt.  Murray  was  cruising  in  the  leeward  islands  in  the 
Constellation,  (then  of  32  guns)  Capt.  Taylor,  in  the  Mag- 
nanimique,  in  the  dead  of  night  gave  the  Constellation  a 
gun. 

This  was  done,  without  exhibiting  any  signal,  or  in  any 
way  discovering  the  character  of  his  ship. 

Whether  this  was  an  intentional  insult  to  Capt.  Murray — 
a  design  to  disgrace  the  ship,  as  the  Little  Belt  attempted 
to  disgrace  the  President  frigate,  and  as  the  Leopard  actu- 
ally did  disgrace  the  frigate  Chesapeake,  years  after,  the 
reader  will  judge  from  the  sequel. 

Capt.  Murray,  in  the  Constellation,  set  the  first  example 
to  his  brother  officers  of  repelling  any  indignity  to  the 
American  flag,  proceeding  from  any  cause  whatever. 

His  gallant  cotemporary,  Com.  Rodgers,  followed  his 
example  ;  but  the  commander  of  the  Chesapeake,  in  1 807, 
did  not  follow  it. 

That  ill  fated  ship,  manned  from  the  fine  bay  where  she 
first  embraced  her  destined  element,  and  on  the  borders  of 
which  still  was  visible  insignia  of  the  Gothic  devastations, 
perpetrated  by  a  Gothic  British  Admiral  in  the  second  war 
between  America  and  Britain,  seemed  to  have  something 
ominous  in  her  very  name. 

A  field  for  digression  is  here  opened  ;  but  here — "  Be- 
shrew  the  sombre  pencil ;"  and  return,  with  delight,  to  the 
gallant  Capt.  Murray,  who,  upon  this  singular  occasion,  dis- 
covered that  cool  discretion  which  constitutes  the  charac- 
ter of  a  great  warrior,  quite  as  much  as  dauntless  bravery. 

Upon  receiving  the  shot,  he  immediately  ordered  his 
ship  cleared  for  action.  The  result  I  have  the  pleasure  of 
giving  in  the  language  of  a  Philadelphia  correspondent : 

"  In  that  doubtful  moment  of  conflict,  in  the  bosom  of 


<  OM.    VLEXANDEB   MURR  \\. 

his  officers,  he  ordered  the  reefa  out  oi  his  topsail 
time  in  preparing  the  ship  for  battle.      \-  30011  as  that  ob- 
ject was  attained,  the  ship  was  pal  in  II  hands  beat 
'o  their  quarters-  -she  passed  close  under  the  lee,  on  oppo 
site  tacks,  bringing  all  the  guns  t*»  bear  and  poured  mt<»  th< 
strange  sail  a  rnosl  destructive  broadside-     As  the  sail  did 
not  return  the  fire,  the  Constellation  was  immediately  put 
tliuiit  ;  and  it  was  resolved  to  hail  before  a  second  fire  was 
made.     Tliis  was  instantly  done,  and  «'  was  soon  dis<  over 
ed  thatthe  ship  had  fired  into  a  friendly  sail.     Her  boat  was 
then  despatched  to  the  Constellation,  and  satisfactory  ex- 
planations were  made. 

"  The  British  officer,  from  the  Magnanimique,  assured 
Capt.  Murray  that  nothing  but  the  uncommon  prudence  of 
Capt.  Taylor,  her  commander,  and  the  course  pursued  by 
Capt.  Murray,  checked  a  dreadful  combat,  which  would 
have  ensued.  Every  officer  and  seaman  on  board  each 
ship,  could  scarcely  be  controled  from  keeping  up  the  tire, 
as  each  supposed  that  it  was  a  French  frigate  that  each  had 
encountered,  both  which  ships  were  on  the  look  out  for. 

"  Capt.  Taylor  cast  not  the  least  censure  upon  the  con- 
duct of  Capt.  Murray  ;  but  observed,  that  he  had  been  se 
verely  injured  in  his  spars,  sails  and  rigging,  that  he  should 
be  obliged  to  go  into  port  to  repair  damages." 

Capt.  Taylor  probably  discovered  his  error  from  the 
lire  of  an  American  frigate,  as  suddenly  as  Capt.  Murray 
did  his,  from  the  display  of  a  British  ensign.  British  offi 
cers  had  become  sufficiently  familiarized  with  French  and 
Spanish  manoevering  and  gunnery  to  know  that  a  single 
broadside,  even  from  a  French  or  Spanish  ship  of  the  line 
could  not  have  produced  such  disastrous  effect  as  the  fire  of 
an  American  frigate  of  the  small^t  cJa6 


292  NAVAL  HEROEb. 

It  was  the  first  broadside  which  a  ship  of  war,  bearing  St. 
George's  cross,  had  received  from  one,  carrying  the  Amer- 
ican stars  and  stripes,  since  the  war  of  the  Revolution  ;  and 
fortunate  would  it  have  been  for  the  boasted  superiority  of 
British  naval  prowess,  had  it  been  the  last. 

From  this  brief  detail  of  an  interesting  incident  in  Capt. 
Murray's  "  meridian  life,"  a  useful  lesson  may  be  deduced 
by  those  who  traverse  the  highway  of  all  nations,  in  public 
ships  ;  which,  when  afloat,  are  as  sacred  as  the  territory  of 
the  nation,  whose  power  they  in  part  represent. 

Had  the  "  affair  of  the  Chesapeake  and  Leopard,"  been 
adjusted  on  the  spot,  as  was  that  of  the  Constellation  and 
the  Magnanimique,  the  leading  cause  of  the  second  war  be- 
tween America  and  Britain  might  not  have  widened  and 
widened  the  breach  between  the  two  countries,  until  it 
could  be  healed  only  by  an  appeal  to  arms,  which  cost  some 
of  the  best  blood  which  the  American  Republic  and  the 
British  Empire  have,  in  modern  days,  produced. 

When  hostilities  ended  between  America  and  France, 
by  negotiation,  in  1802,  the  gallant  little  American  navy 
was  rendered  still  smaller  by  an  act  of  Congress  for  the  re- 
duction of  it. 

A  great  number  of  accomplished  officers,  either  left  the 
service  entirely — retired  upon  half-pay,  or  held  themselves 
in  readiness  once  more  to  unfurl  the  banners  of  their  coun* 

try. 

Capt.  Murray,  having  passed  through  the  whole  revolu- 
tionary struggle,  either  in  the  army  or  navy — having  also 
been  in  constant  and  active  service  during  the  whole  naval 
warfare  with  France,  might  well  have  wished  to  retire. 

Thomas  Jefferson,  who,  like  his  immediate  predeces- 
sor, was  assiduously  engaged  in  the  cabinet  and  council  of 


COM.   ALEXANDER  MURB  M  • 

be  nation,  and  of  Virginia,  in  the  revolution— who  drew 
the   I  )eclaration  of  American  Indepond 
now  our  ofthe  three  survh  ora  who  Bigned  it 
of  State,  and  Ambassador,  by  th<  tment  of  Washing- 

ton,  was  elevated  to  the  chair  of  Chief  Mag  i  the 

Republic,  when  the  war-worn  Mun  once  mon 

lieved  from  incessant  and  toilsome  duty. 

The  French  Republic,  as  the  great  and  |  'werful,  and 
humiliated  French  Empire  was  then  called,  notwithstand- 
ing >he  had,  with  resistless  strides,  prostrated  surrounding 
kingdoms,  and  out  of  their  wrecks  carved  kingdoms  for 
her- elf,  was  rejdy  and  willing,  and  even  anxious  to  avail 
herself  of  the  pacific  disposition  of  the  American  adminis- 
tration, to  negotiate  a  peace  with  the  American  Republic. 
She  had  a  specimen  of  such  kind  of  negotiation  as  Truxton, 
Little,  Murray,  Barry,  Decatur  the  elder,  Tryon,  kc. 
displayed  upon  their  tapis. 

Charles  Maurice  Talleyrand,  once  the  traveller  in  Ame- 
rica, afterwards  bishop  of  Autun,  and  then  the  "  primum 
mobile1'  of  the  vast  designs  of  Napoleon,  the  modern  Char- 
lemagne, perfectly  understood  the  American  character  and 
country,*  and,  in  Oliver  Ellsworth,  C.  Cotemvorth 
Pinckney,  and  Gouverneur  Davie,  recognized  dignified 
and  decided  American  diplomatists. 

:  The  writer  enjoyed  the  high  honour  of  hearing-  from  the  tongue 
of  the  great  Oliver  Ellsworth,  many  deeply  interesting  anecdotes  of 
that  unsurpassed  minister,  Talleyrand.  Said  Judge  Ellsworth,  •  Mj 
official  duty,  as  Chief  Justice,  led  me  to  explore  the  most  interesting- 
portions  of  the  United  States.  I  thought  myself  tolerably  acqu 
with  the  relative  situation  of  the  different  states,— the  different  puP 
suit^  of  the  people,  in  different  portions  of  the  country.  I  thought  I 
had  a  considerable  acqi  tance  with  the  American  character  ;  judge 
then  of  mj  surprise,  in  occasional  interviews  with  Talleyrand,  when  1 

30 


294  NAVAL  HEROES. 

An  honourable  peace  was  made,  and  the  American  cha= 
racter,  which  had  begun  to  decline,  was  restored  to  its 
pristine  vigour.  It  somewhat  declined  again,  and  was  again 
restored  by  the  second  war  with  Britain. 

During  the  naval  warfare  with  France,  the  detested  and 
vengeful  barbarian  Turks,  and  the  graceless  and  ruthless 
disciples  of  the  arch  impostor  of  Mecca,  were  preying  in 
the  Mediterranean  upon  American  merchantmen,  and 
American  citizens,  with  that  diabolical  ferocity  which  for- 
ever is  stamped  upon  the  conduct  of  cowards,  when  they 
conclude  they  can  rob,  ravish  and  murder,  with  impunity. 

Having,  in  the  imperfect  sketch  ofthejeteran  Edward 
Preble,  a  successor  of  the  veteran  Alexander  Murray, 
briefly  alluded  to  the  merciless  treatment  of  the  Mahom- 
etan Turks  towards  American  Christians,  I  will  barely  refer 
the  reader  to  that  sketch,  as  it  is  almost  impossible,  in  our 
copious  language,  to  find  terms  of  abhorrence  and  execra- 
tion sufficient  to  pour  out  against  the  ireful,  detested,  im- 
placable, blood  thirsty,  God  defying,  infernal  Turks,  who 
are  now  preying  upon  the  noble  Grecians,  as  they  then 
were  upon  our  noble  countrymen  in  bondage.  Although 
we  may  well  exclaim  with  the  bard, 

"  Let  not  this  weak  and  erring  hand, 

Presume  thy  bolts  to  throw, 
Nor  deal  damnation  round  the  land. 

On  each  I  judge  a  foe." — 

heard  from  this  arch  Frenchman,  more  minute  descriptions  of  the 
country,  and  more  penetrating  observations  upon  the  comparative 
"•wealth,  and  power,  and  future  prospects  of  the  various  states,  than  I 
^iave  often  heard  from  an  American ;  and  I  must  confess  I  was  as- 
tonished at  obtaining  ideas  of  my  native  country,  at  a  hotel  in  Paris, 
which  were  entirely  novel  to  me."  These,  according  to  recollection, 
and  a  common-place  book,  are  very  near  the  remarks  of  Judge  Ells- 
worth. 


v  mm.  ALEX  wi>!  i;    mii;i;  u  . 

when  reflecting  upon  tin-  unvarying  ferocit]  of  Maho- 
metans towards  Christians,  it  is  hardlj  possible  <<>  eipn  si 
our  sentiments  in  Christian  language  ;  and  to  make  us  hop< 
that  the  spirit  of  crusading  ma)  revive  thatawui  of  sub 
jugation,  if  not  of  extermination,  be  waged  by  the  ( Christian 
against  the  Mahometan  world.* 

Capt.  Murray  had  hardly  come  out  of  the  smoke  and 
thunder  of  the  West  Indies,  in  chastising  Frenchmen  and 
Spaniard-,  before  he  was  designated  as  Commodore  of  a 
small  squadron  designed  to  pour  out  a  portion  of  American 
wrath  against  the  Tripolitans,  at  the  head  of  whom  the 
blood-glutted  Jussiiff  had  placed  himself,  after  embruing 
his  hellish  hands  in  the  blood  of  his  father  and  elder  bro- 
ther ;  and  driving  another  brother,  the  miserable  Hamet 
Caramalli  into  exile  ;  either  of  whom,  with  equal  power, 
would  have  been  equally  merciless  as  JussufF  himself. 

Com.  Murray  hoisted  his  broad  pendant  upon  that  match- 
less little  frigate,  the  Constellation. 

He  seemed  to  be  as  partial  to  that  ship,  as  Nelson,  in  his 
earlier  life,  was  to  the  Agamemnon,  a  heavy  British  ship 
of  the  line,  which,  to  use  the  language  of  one  of  his  nume- 

*  The  following  forcible  description  of  the  Mahometan  Turks,  in 
the  19th  century,  is  from  the  production  of  an  anonymous  writer,  pub- 
lished since  this  Sketch  was  written.  Another  late  author  says  :  — 
"  The  bitter  draught  prepared  for  Christians  by  Mahometans,  is  drug- 
ged by  the  hand  of  death,  and  brewed  in  hell." 

"  The  character  of  the  Turks  is  too  well  known  to  require  com- 
ment. Ignorant,  fanatical,  brutal,  and  ferocious,  destitute  of  almost 
every  virtue,  and  tainted  with  every  vice,  the  sworn  foes  of  every 
thing  bearing  the  name  of  Christian,  whom  no  treaties  can  bind,  and 
whose  faith  with  all  but  Mahometans  is  given  but  to  be  violated,  they 
ought  to  be  treated  as  enemies  to  mankind  ;  and  all  civilized  nations 
ought  to  combine,  either  in  exterminating  them  from  the  earth  they 
have  polluted,  or  in  depriving  them  of  power  for  future  mischief." 


29(5  NAVAL  HEROES. 

rous  biographers — "  Nelson  wore  out  the  Agamemnon,  and 
the  Agamemnon  almost  wore  out  Nelson." 

Com.  Dale,  his  gallant  associate  in  the  war  of  the  Rev- 
olution, and  his  brother  officer  in  the  Trumbull,  when  she 
beat  the  Iris,  and  then  struck  to  the  Iris  and  the  Monk, 
and  in  which  both  were  severely  wounded,  had  preceded 
him  in  the  command  of  an  American  squadron  in  the  Me- 
diterranean. 

It  would  be  extraneous  to  the  object  of  this  sketch  to 
dwell  upon  the  services  rendered  to  his  country  by  Com. 
Dale. 

It  is  sincerely  hoped,  that  some  hand  far  abler  than  the 
one  that  is  now  attempting  a  faint  outline  of  his  energetic, 
persevering,  and  valiant  comrade,  will  present  to  the  Amer- 
ican reader,  a  full  biography  of  this  hero  in  three  wars — 
in  the  most  important  ocean,  and  in  the  most  extensive  sea 
in  our  world. 

It  may,  however,  be  remarked,  that  Com.  Dale  led  the 
American  van'm  the  Mediterranean — first  exhibited  a  smalt 
specimen  of  that  increasing  naval  power,  which,  in  the 
hands  of  one  of  his  successors,  Com.  Preble,  produced 
such  astonishing  dismay  amongst  Turks. 

One  of  Com.  Dale's  officers,  Lieut.  Sterrett,  in  the  little 
schooner  Enterprise,  (which  has  become  the  most  celebra- 
ted schooner  in  the  world)  gained  the  first  American  vic- 
tory over  Turks,  as  Capt.  Hull  in  the  second  war  did  over 
Britons,  in  the  most  celebrated  frigate,  the  Constitution. 

Com.  Dale's  squadron  was  so  small,  he  was  not,  by  his 
government,  permitted  to  act  offensively  on  any  occasion. 
Lieut.  Sterrett  acted  only  defensively,  when  he  battered  a 
Tripolitan  corsair  of  much  superior  force,  almost  to  pieces, 
and  sent  home  the  wreck  of  her  and  her  surviving  crew,  to 


COM.    \U\  V.NDKi;    Ml   RR  \\. 

be  bastinadoed,  and  to  be  ridden  on  asses,  (like  Christians) 
as  an  indelible  disgrace,  for  striking  bis  flag  to  a  "  kellup 
en  Baurha"  (( !hristian  dog.) 

Com.  Dale  thus  restrained  by  instructions  from  bis  go 
rernment —  thus  inhibited  from  striking,  until    he    was 
struck,  and  perhaps  from  the  Mow,  unable  to  strike  at  all, 
was  iii   the  wors!   possible  situation  a  naval  comma] 
could  be  placed. 

If  he  had  been  unable  to  blockade  his  enemy,  and  (hey 
should  have  escaped  from  port,  and  assailed  him  with  tre- 
ble his  force,  he  must  either  have  escaped,  if  possible,  or 
have  patiently  waited  for  a  general  attack  from  the  whole 
marine  of  Tripoli  before  he  could  fire  a  gun,  or  board  a 
corsair! ! 

Com.  Murray  relieved  Com.  Dale  from  his  arduous  du- 
ty, and  embarrassing  situation,  and  had  a  duty  equally  ar- 
duous, and  a  station  equally  embarrassing  to  till  himself. 

This  contracted  sketch  might  be  swelled  to  a  volume  by 
dilating  upon  the  peculiar  relations  subsisting  in  1802,  be- 
tween the  American  government  and  the  Barbary  states, 
as  they  had  a  peculiar  effect  upon  Com.  Murray. 

Although  this  skilful  and  consummate  commander  could 
exercise  the  coolest  judgment,  and  the  soundest  discretion, 
yet  he  never  could  be  brought  to  think  with  the  gascona- 
ding knight  in  Shakspeare,  that  "  the  better  part  of  valour 
is  discretion,"  or  to  act  like  him  in  "  counterfeiting  death, 
thereby  to  save  life." 

However  much  the  philanthropist,  the  moralist,  and  the 
Christian  may  applaud  that  pacific  disposition  in  govern- 
ments which  endeavour  to  bring  about  "  Peace  on  earth. 
good  will  to  men,"  yet,  when  civilized  and  christianized 
nations,  who  scrupulously  regard  the  faith  of  treaties — the 


c293  NAVAL  HEROES. 

dictates  of  reason,  and  the  injunctions  of  humanity,  are 
compelled  to  enter  into  collision  with  the  modern  Saracens, 
and  the  disciples  of  Mahomet,  who  habitually  violate  them 
all,  it  would  be  feminine  pusillanimity  to  exclaim  Peace  ! 

peace  ! 

Missionary  societies  may  send  missionaries  to  convert 
them  to  Christianity— governments  may  send  ambassadors 
to  negotiate  with  them— the  wealth  of  nations  may  be  ex- 
hausted in  paying  them  tribute— they  detest  the  very  sound 
of  Christianity— they  hold  it  a  canon  of  Mahometan  faith  to 
violate  compacts  with  christians,  and  the  tribute  they  ex- 
tort, increases  their  means  of  waging  war  with  the  whole 
Christian  world. 

They  are  restrained  by  nothing  but  fear  •  and  fear  can 
be  excited  in  them  by  nothing  but  the  display  of  power,  and 
the  roaring  of  hostile  cannon. 

From  1803  to  1823  the  American  Republic  have  wisely 
acted  upon  this  principle ;  and  a  Turk  would  now  as  soon 
rattle  his  beads  in  the  face  of  an  emir  of  the  Sublime  Porte, 
as  to  offer  injury  or  indignity  to  an  American. 

Com.  Murray,  with  the  frigate  Constellation,  displayed 
the  American  banner,  the  insignia  of  which  the  Tripolitans 
had  learned  from  his  predecessor.  He  had  but  little  other 
force  •  but  so  vigilant  was  he  and  all  his  officers  and  sea- 
men, that  these  lawless  robbers  were  kept  in  continual 
check. 

Their  marine  force  was  sheltered  in  the  bay  of  Tripoli, 
under  the  protection  of  the  powerful  batteries  of  the  Ba- 
shaw. He  still  felt  the  most  sovereign  contempt  for  Amer- 
icans, and  yet  the  extremest  mortification  at  beholding  his 
inactive  navy  moored  under  his  immediate  view  for  safety. 
He  however  derived  a  sort  of  devilish  satisfaction  in 


COM.    \U.\  VNDEB    Ml  RRA1 . 

ting  his   infernal  eyes,   l>>  gazing  into   In     dungeon 
where  man)  Americans  were  in  pinions  and  in  <  bains. 

Although  the  American  commander  could  not  relieve 
them,  the  hapless  captives  felt  the  cheering  balm  of  hope, 
'•vrn  in  their  dungeon.  It  was  a  consoling  consideration 
that  the}  were  held  in  remembran<  e  bj  their  gallant  coun- 
trymen;  and  thai  the  government  of  their  country  was  be- 
ginning the  work  of  their  redemption. 

The  name  of  Alexander  Murray  was  familiar  with  thi  m. 
is  was  that  of  Dale  and  Sterrett;  and  they  felt  assured 
that  there  was  a  redeeming  spirit  in  the  American  Repub- 
lic, that  would  sever  their  chains  asunder — rescue  them 
from  Mahometan  bondage,  and  emancipate  them  by  the 
arm  of  power,  rather  than  by  exorbitant  ransom. 

But  their  hope  was  to  be  "  long  deferred;"  and  hundreds 
of  their  co'antrj  nun,  who  aft*  i  wards  came  to  redeem  them, 
were  to  linger  away  many — many  tedious  months  in  the 
same  gloomy  cell  with  themselves. 

Com.  Murray  so  distributed  his  small  force,  as  not  to 
suffer  a  single  Tripolitan  keel  to  escape,  to  prey  upon 
American  merchantmen. 

By  this  arrangement,  he  was,  atone  time,  entirely  alone 
with  his  ship  before  the  bay  of  Tripoli.  He  was  for  some 
time  totally  becalmed,  but  a  little  distance  from  the  same 
fatal  rock  upon  which  one  of  his  gallant  successors,  Com. 
Bainbridge  immoveably  struck;  and  who  with  Irs  unrival- 
ed officers  and  crew,  became  prisoners  to  the  detested  Jus- 
suff,  the  reigning  bashaw  of  Tripoli. 

In  this  perilous  situation,  an  overwhelming  superiority 
of  force  came  out  in  small  vesst  Is   which  would   be  mana- 
ged in  a  calm,  by  sweeps,  and  gave  battle  to  Com.  Mui 
ray. 


300  NAVAL  HEROES. 

He  sustained  the  attack  for  a  long  time,  by  wearing  ship 
and  keeping  the  enemy  at  a  respectful  distance,  who  still 
felt  secure  of  victory. 

A  favourable  breeze  at  length  sprang  up — he  made  im- 
mediate sail  into  the  midst  of  the  Bashaw's  fleet — poured 
out  starboard  and  larboard  broadsides,  and  shots  from  his 
forecastle  guns  and  stern-chasers  with  such  astonishing  ra- 
pidity, and  destructive  effect,  that  the  Tripolitan  vessels, 
shattered,  battered,  and  scattered,  made  their  escape  into 
their  harbour,  and  under  protection  of  their  own  batteries. 

The  nature  of  the  warfare  was  such,  that  had  Com. 
Murray  been  able,  as  he  unquestionably  was,  to  have  cap- 
tured a  part  at  least,  of  this  squadron,  it  would  not  have 
corresponded  with  his  instructions.  He  could  only  de- 
fend himself. 

Com.  Dale,  after  the  gallant  Sterrett  had  silenced  and 
completely  beaten  a  heavy  corsair,  could  not  make  a  prize 
of  her,  but  sent  her  home  to  the  bashaw. 

It  was  as  impossible  for  the  bashaw  to  conceal  his  severe 
chagrin  at  the  result  of  this  rencontre,  as  it  was  for  the 
American  prisoners  to  conceal  their  high  exultation  at  the 
success  of  it,  on  the  part  of  the  gallant  commodore. 

During  his  continuance  upon  this  station,  he  had  no  oth- 
er opportunity  to  display  his  skill  and  valour  in  defending 
his  force  against  the  enemy.  He  had  "  scotched  the  snake, 
but  not  killed  him  ;"  and  the  bashaw  was  permitted  to 
eject  his  venom  at  a  harmless  distance  ;  or,  like  the  casti- 
gated ape,  to  bruise  himself  by  the  threshings  of  his  own 
arms.  The  American  Commodore,  by  his  instructions, 
could  do  nothing  but  brandish  his  rod — he  could  not  strike 
offensively. 

Com.  Murray  continued  to  stand  off,  and  to  stand  on. — 


COM.  ALEX  INDER   Ml  RR  \Y.  101 

blockading  and  defying  the  mortified  Tripolitans.     It  *  i 
i  sluggish  pursuit  for  an  active  warrior,  who  had  conquer 

ed    BritonB  upon  land  and   upon  water  ;  and    who   had  ad 

ministered  effectual  chastisement  to  boasting  Frenchmen 
and  insolent  Spaniards. 

But.  devoted,  from  innate  and  acquired  principle,  to  hi- 
country,  he  would  serve  it  in  any  station,  so  be  it  he  could 
support  its  rights,  and  advance  its  interests. 

He  little  knew  what  secret  influence  was  operating  in  his 
own  country,  to  displace  him,  even  from  the  station  he 
then  held.  He  was  soon  to  receive  a  blow  from  the  other 
side  of  the  Atlantic  ;  but  the  hand  that  was  to  inflict  it, 
was  concealed  from  his  view.  President  Jefferson  had 
ever  manifested  the  utmost  respect  for  Com.  Murray,  and 
continued  to  manifest  it  till  the  day  of  his  death.  Without 
attempting  to  deduce  the  reasons,  a  priori,  for  the  measure, 
we  know  the  ultimatum  was,  that  Com.  Murray  was  super- 
seded by  Capt.  Morris,  and  returned  to  America  in  the 
Constellation. 

This  was  the  third  war  from  which  Alexander  Murray 
had  returned  to  the  bosom  of  his  country,  and  to  the  circle 
of  his  friends,  with  unfading  laurels  acquired  in  each,  and 
without  a  blot  to  tarnish  his  escutcheon.  It  is  often  the 
fate  of  rash  and  impetuous  valour,  heedless  of  fixed  princi- 
ple, to  commit  some  untoward  act  that  dims  the  lustre  of 
brilliant  achievements.  The  applause  that  is  justly  be- 
stowed upon  "  deeds  of  noble  daring,"  is  immediately  fol- 
lowed by  expressions  of  regret  that  some  indelible  stain  is 
impressed  upon  the  actor,  that  can  never  be  obliterated. 
It  was  not  so,  most  fortunately  for  his  imperishable  reputa- 
tion, with  Com.  Murray.     Although  he  was  superseded,  in 

his  command  in  the  Mediterranean  by  Com.  Morris,  as  one 

40 


302  NAVAL  HEROES. 

of  his  immortal  successors,  Com.  Preble  was,  by  Com. 
Barron,  Murray  could  not  be  degraded.  As  a  finished  sta- 
tue upon  a  lofty  pedestal  is  diminished  to  the  view  only  by 
its  superior  elevation,  so  the  fame  of  this  warrior  cannot 
be  lessened,  only  by  surpassing  the  comprehension  of  those 
who  contemplate  it. 

Although  at  this  period,  Com.  Murray  had  not  reached 
fifty  years  in  the  calender  of  his  life,  he  had  spent  nearly 
one  third  of  that  time  in  sanguinary  warfare  in  righting  for 
the  cause  of  the  Republic.  Yes!  he  had  fought,  and 
fought  valiantly  in  thirteen  battles  !  Many  of  his  gallant 
countrymen  have  acquired  their  fame  and  their  fortune  too, 
in  one  victory,  and  in  one  hour ;  and  the  great  mass  of 
their  countrymen  who  never  faced  an  enemy,  or  exposed 
their  lives  in  the  perils  and  dangers  of  war,  now  participate 
in  the  glory  which  they  have  attached  to  the  name  of 
American. 

As  to  the  course  pursued  by  the  immediate  successor  of 
Com.  Murray  in  the  command  of  the  American  squadron  in 
the  Mediterranean,  it  belongs  not  to  this  brief  sketch  of 
his  immediate  predecessor.  At  this  period  of  American  his- 
tory, the  writer  was  too  young,  and  ought  to  have  been  en- 
grossed too  much  by  other  pursuits,  to  take  any  interest  in 
the  political  commotions  that  then  agitated  the  councils  of 
this  country.  They  did  not  then  interest  him  :  but,  anxious 
to  acquire  at  least  a  superficial  view  of  measures  then  adop- 
ted, he  has  recently  recurred  to  the  publications  of  that 
day.  It  was  like  groping  one's  way  through  a  wilderness 
of  "thorns  and  thistles,"  and  as  the  traveller  made  his 
egress,  ingress,  and  regress,  he  would  be  most  sensibly  con- 
vinced, at  every  step,  that  the  curse  denounced  against  this 
world  in  consequence  of  "  Adam's  first  transgression,"  had 


COM.  ALEX  wnr.R   mi  i;i:  \\. 

not  ceased  to  operate  ; — that  the  sentci  i  <•  against  th<  Bei 
pent,  "  on  thj  bellj  ahall  thou  go,"  w;(-  then  in  fall  for<  i  . 

( !om.  Murray  had  then  the  proud  satisfa<  tion  ot  mm  ord« 
nvj,  in  the  catalogue  of  lu>  friends  ami  patrons,  the  exalted 
names  of  George  Washington,  John  Adams,  and  Thomas 
Fefferson  ;  and  at  the  da)  of  his  death  might  add  those  of 
James  Madison,  and  James  .Monroe. 

\i  the  time  Com.  Morris  was  appointed  to  succeed  C 
Murray,  the  Navy  Department  had  become  so  organized, 
that  the  President  did  not  deem  it  his  duty  to  interpose  hie 
authority  in  regard  to  the  arrangements  therein  digested. 
That  department  acted  to  a  certain  degree  as  a  nominating 
body,  and  the  President  as  the  approving  power  of  the  nom- 
inations therein  made.  When  he  approved  of  the  nomina- 
tion of  Com.  Morris,  he  could  not  foresee  what  would  be 
the  course  of  that  officer  as  commander  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean squadron.  But  the  American  people  now  know  wha* 
tool:  place  at  the  seat  of  government,  after  that  officer  was 
succeeded  by  the  veteran  Preble. 

Here  that  subject  will  be  dismissed.  The  man  of  research 
needs  not  to  be  reminded  of  it ;  and  those  who  catch  their 
opinions  second  handed,  from  those  who  adopted  them 
without  reason,  and  cannot  be  reasoned  out  of  them,  will 
be  dismissed  with  perfect  indifference,  whether  they  ap- 
prove or  disapprove  of  the  treatment  towards  Com.  Mur- 
ray. 

To  a  sluggish  and  neutralized  mind,  which  is  neither  el- 
evated by  pleasure,  or  depressed  by  pain — which  knows 
not  how  to  appreciate  the  acute  sensibility  of  a  high- 
minded  man,  when  honoured,  or  the  extremity  of  his  mor- 
tification when  neglected,  it  would  seem  that  Com.  Murray 


304  NAVAL  HEROES. 

ought  to  have  been  satisfied,  and  even  thankful  for  being 
removed  from  active  service  ! 

The  prince  of  the  drama  makes  the  injured  Leonato  thus 
address  the  consoling  Antonio — 

"  It  is  all  men's  office  to  preach  patience 

"  To  those  who  wring  under  a  load  of  injury." 

The  phlegmatic  beings,  whose  hearts  are  as  cold  as  an 
anchorite,  and  whose  affections  can  no  more  be  warmed 
than  polar  ice,  most  generally  place  themselves  uncalled 
into  the  monitory  chair,  and  deal  out  a  string  of  thread-bare 
proverbs,  which  their  nurses  taught  them  upon  the  stool 
at  the  same  time  they  cudgelled  into  their  brains  the  or- 
thodox catechism. 

Such  neutral  creatures  will  have  the  presumption  to  of- 
fer advice  and  consolation  to  such  a  man  as  was  Alexan- 
Murray  !  "  Fillip  me  with  a  three-man  betle,"  (as  Fal- 
staffsaid)  "  before  I  would  condescend  to  receive  either 
advice,  consolation,  or  cash  from  such  miserable  comfort- 
ers." 

It  is  a  man's  own  soul  that  measures  the  injury  that  is 
done  him  ;  and  it  is  aggravated  or  softened  as  his  mind  is 
more  elevated,  or  more  stupified. 

Com.  Mcirray  was  too  exalted  to  descend  to  the  low  lev- 
el of  the  swarms  of  insects  who  were  warmed  into  life  by 
the  resuscitating  rays  of  Presidential  favour.  He  would 
neither  smile  upon  them  for  their  officious  intermeddling 
in  his  favour,  or  frown  upon  them  for  their  machinations  to 
effect  his  degradation. 

He  brushed  these  ephemera  away  from  him,  as  a  lion 
would  shake  dew-drops  from  his  mane,  and  remonstrated 
against  his  removal  to  the  Executive.     He  had  one  privi- 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURRAY,  m 

lege  left  him  :  the  privilege  of  i  omplaining,  and  he  did  it 
at  "  Head-Quarters." 

ft  was  ever  the  course  <>j'  tin  sainted  Washington,  bo 
far  as  executive  favours  could  constitutionally  extend,  to 
bestow  the  rewards  of  honour  and  emolument  upon  those 
who  had  devoted  themselves  to  the  service  of  the  Repub- 
lic. 

If  any  sort  of  proportion  could  he  maintained  between 
services  rendered,  and  rewards  to  be  bestowed,  what  would 
have  been  the  reward  of  Com.  Murray  ? 

It  is  unhesitatingly  averred,  that  at  the  time  he  returned 
to  America  from  the  Mediterranean  in  1802,  there  was  not 
a  single  American  living  who  had  passed  through  more  ar- 
duous duty  ;  faced  more  dangers — fought  in  more  battles  ; 
or  achieved  more  victories. 

His  locks  were  blanched  by  the  elements  ;  his  body  was 
wounded  by  hostile  arms  ;  his  sense  of  hearing  was  affect- 
ed, by  the  concussions  of  roaring  cannon,  and  a  premature 
old  age  had  insidiously  stolen  upon  him  by  his  prodigality 
of  his  own  blood. 

This  is  no  coloured  fiction,  unless  the  plain  story  of  the 
unsurpassed  services  of  Murray,  may  be  ranked  amongst 
the  varnished  tales  of  romance. 

When  speaking  of  rewards  due  to  this  veteran  of  the 
Republic,  money  is  as  far  from  the  conceptions  of  the  wri- 
ter, as  it  was  from  him.  It  was  rank — it  was  station — it 
was  command,  he  sought  for,  and  which  he  so  meritoriously 
deserved. 

Was  age  an  objection  to  him  ?  let  it  be  remembered  thai 
the  then  President,  at  just  about  this  time,  when  answering 
an  objection  to  an  officer  in  Connecticut  on  account  of  age, 
said,  "  at  eighty,  Franklin  was  the  ornament  of  human  na- 
ture," and  at  eighty-rive  he  is  now.  himself. 


306  NAVAL  HEROES. 

Com  Murray  to  be  sure  had  reached  the  meridian  of  life ; 
and,  by  regular  gradation,  had  ascended  to  the  meridian  of 
glory ;  and  had  the  American  government  permitted  him 
to  go  forward  in  the  path  to  the  temple  of  fame,  in  which 
he  had  so  successfully  travelled  all  his  life,  Com.  Morris, 
his  first  successor,  might  have  escaped  from  the  adimadver- 
sions  of  his  government,  and  country — Com.  Preble,  his 
second  successor,  might  have  died  without  some  of  the  lau- 
rels which  he  won,  and  carried  to  his  grave — and  Com. 
Barron,  his  third  successor,  might  have  returned  to  Ameri- 
ica  without  the  honour  of  blockading  the  Tripolitan  navy, 
until  Mr.  Lear  had  negotiated  a  peace  which  Preble  had 
conquered. 

One  of  the  profoundest,  and  altogether  the  most  interest- 
ing of  Roman  historians,  remarks  (to  put  it  in  plain  Eng- 
lish) "  A  wise  government  will  avail  itself  of  the  successful 
example  of  its  enemy."  The  British  government,  when 
Nelson  had  continued  to  conquer,  continued  him  in  service, 
until  he  prostrated  the  combined  navy  of  France  and  Spain 
at  Trafalgar ;  and  it  is  no  extravagant  conjecture  to  pre- 
sume, from  the  uniform  judgment  and  courage  of  Com. 
Murray,  that  if  he  had  been  continued  in  the  command  of 
the  Mediterranean  squadron,  with  its  subsequent  augment- 
ation, he  would  have  triumphantly  returned  to  America  in 
1 805  ;  and  that  he  would  now  be  remembered  as  the  first 
Christian  hero  who  made  the  followers  of  Mahomet  hum- 
bly submit  to  Christian  prowess. 

To  use  a  term  of  the  legal  profession,  the  "  quo  animo^ 
with  which  he  was  treated,  cannot,  at  this  remove  of  time, 
be  fathomed  ;  and,  to  resort  to  another  axiom  of  lawyers, 
"  suggestio  falsi,  et  suppressio  veri,"  are  stamped  in  a  mor- 
al sense,  with  eqnal  turpitude. 


•  OM.  ALEXANDER   All  RRAY. 

Whether  it  was  the  suggestion  of  falsehood,  or  the  ■ 
pression  of  truth,  that  removed  him,  the  surviving  offi<  ei 
of  the  Navy  Department  at  that  period,  ma)  possibly  de- 
termine. 

These  remarks  arc  not  made  to  harrow  up  the  acrimo- 
ny of  part)  feelings.  The  writer  rejoices,  most  Bincerely. 
that  the  "  era  of  good  feelings"  now  most  happily  prevails 

m  our  beloved  Republic.  But,  notwithstanding  Alexander 
Murray  is  removed  from  his  temporal  to  his  eternal  glory — 
notwithstanding  his  sublimated  spirit  is  now  equally  regard- 
•>f  the  deserved  applause  of  his  earthly  friends  and  the 
insidious  machinations  oX  his  ungenerous  competitors,  it  is 
the  solemn  duty  of  his  surviving  countrymen,  to  enter  a 
solemn  protest  against  any  injury  committed  against  this 
sleeping  hero,  when  in  life. 

Com.  Murray,  after  having  expressed  his  dignified  indig- 
nation at  the  course  pursued  in  regard  to  the  command  in 
the  Mediterranean,  retired  with  the  consciousness  of  hav- 
ing served  his  country,  and  in  that  way,  served  his  Creator 
faithfully. 

He  was  not  one  of  those  querulous,  petulant  men,  who 
utter  forth  their  quotidian  ditties  of  effeminate  and  useless 
lamentation.  But,  with  the  heart  and  with  the  ken  of  a 
patriot,  he  watched  the  progress  of  the  American  navy. 
He  gloried  in  the  fame  of  Preble,  who  finished  what  his 
compatriot  and  friend  Com.  Dale  began.  He  welcomed 
the  returning  Bainbridge,  Porter,  Jones  and  Biddle  from 
bondage;  and  Decatur  (the  younger)  Stewart.  Hull,  Law- 
rence, Morris,  (the  younger)  Macdonou^h,  Trippe,  &c. 
from  victory.  He  might  then  have  said  to  his  Maker — 
"  Now  let  thy#servant  depart  in  peace,  for  mine  eyes  have 
seen  thy  salvation. " 


J08  NAVAL  HEROES. 

But,  scarcely  had  two  years  more  rolled  over  his  hon- 
oured head,  before  the  most  flagrant  outrage  was  commit- 
ted against  the  American  Republic  and  her  little  navy. 

An  imperious  British  officer,  in  H.  B.  Majesty's  ship  the 
Leopard  assailed  the  American  frigate  Chesapeake  ! 

It  was  the  tocsin  of  war  to  all  true  Americans ;  and  the 
ieading  cause  of  the  second  war  between  America  and  Bri- 
tain. 

Notwithstanding  more  than  half  a  century  had  been  ad- 
ded to  years  gone  by  since  his  birth  ;  like  a  sleeping  Samp- 
son, he  was  again  aroused  to  the  highest  possible  pitch  of 
patriotic  indignation. 

He  saw  Britons,  with  a  course  unvarying  as  the  march 
of  time,  still  determined  to  treat  Americans  as  rebels,  as 
she  continued  to  treat  Scotsmen,  till  Scotsmen  bowed  to 
her  prowess. 

A  monitory  voice  from  his  grandsire,  the  Highland  Chief, 
seemed  to  arise  from  his  cerement,  "  My  grandson,  never 
submit  to  Britons.  Her  grasp  is  the  grasp  of  death  ;  and 
if  Americans  bow  to  her,  the  tranquillity  that  will  afterwards 
remain  to  them,  will  be  like  the  tranquillity  of  my  surviving 
countrymen  in  Scotland— the  tranquillity  of  trembling 
slaves." 

Com.  Murray  again  urgently  solicited  a  command  in  the 
navy,  and  was  again  repulsed.  He  had  exhausted  his  all, 
but  his  life  for  his  country,  and  his  magnanimous  spirit 
could  but  illy  brook  this  mysterious  neglect. 

Romans  sometimes  made  voluntary  sacrifices  of  them- 
selves, if  they  could  not  sacrifice  their  lives  for  their  coun- 
try. Englishmen  have  improved  upon  the  example  ;  and 
Americans,  for  this  cause,  have  capped  the  cjimax,  by  sac- 
rificing each  other. 


(  OM.   ALEX  \M>KR   MURR  \Y.  309 

But  Com.    Murray  was  too  courageous  to   turn   th 
arms  which  he  had  bo  succe  sfullj   wielded  against  the  en 
emies  of  the  Republic",  against  himself;  and  above  all  deeds 
of  desperation,  he  shuddered  at  the  thought  of  imbruing 
his  hand  in  the  blood  <>!'  his  countrymen,  however  regard 
less  his  country  were  of  hi>  merits. 

He  remembered  that  Aristides  was  banished  his  coun- 
try because  he  was  "too just;'5  and  that  his  grandfathei 
was  banished  Scotland  because  he  was  too  unyielding  to 
bow  to  foreign  or  domestic  foes. 

The  young,  and  ardent,  and  ambitious  candidates  for 
fame  were  impetuously  rushing  forward  to  the  Executive, 
and  to  the  Navy  Department,  foi  office  and  for  promotion  ; 
and  however  much  a  junior  officer  might  respect  his  sen- 
iors, they  were  willing  to  see  them  removed  to  make  a 
place  for  themselves. 

The  admirable  nautical  song  of  the  British  "  Post  Cap- 
tain" is  familiar  with  seamen.  He  had  grown  bald  in  the 
service  of  his  king  and  country  ;  and,  when  asked  why  hie 
locks  had  left  him,  coolly  answered  : 

"  Because  so  many  have  travelled  o'er  my  head.'1 

The  executive  was  not  only  thronged  with  those  who 
wanted  and  who  deserved  promotion,  but  was  surrounded 
by  hordes  of  caterers  for  their  companions. 

Without  any  pretensions  for  themselves,  they  fell,  like 
hyaenas  and  jackalls,  upon  those  who  stood  between  them 
and  their  friends. 

Richard  of  England  and  Jussutf  of  Tripoli,  forgot  con- 
sanguinity, and  waded  through  the  blood  of  fathers  and 
brothers  to  their  thrones.  Bloody  as  were  their  deeds, 
there  was  something  in  them  more  noble  than  in  the  con- 
duct of  the  sycophantic  grovellers—secret  underminers— 

41 


310  NAVAL  HEROES. 

assassins  of  reputation,  who  tried  to  rob  from  veterans  the 
hard-earned  fame  they  had  acquired  by  their  toils,  their 
valour,  and  their  blood. 

The  character  of  Murray,  with  all  who  knew  him,  (and 
the  whole  of  the  five  Presidents  of  the  Republic  knew  him 
well)  all  dignified  men  at  the  American  court  knew  him 
personally,  and  all  intelligent  Americans  knew  him  by  re- 
putation, carried  with  it  an  antidote  against  the  vile,  vil- 
lainous, venomous  vermin,  whose  clandestine  machinations 
endeavoured  to  effect  his  degradation  ;  knowing  that  mi- 
ners, by  a  concealed  train,  may  demolish  a  fortress  which 
might  defy  the  attacks  of  open  assailants. 

The  excitement  produced  by  the  disgrrceful  affair  of  the 
Chesapeake,  was  in  some  measure  allayed  by  the  disavow- 
al of  young  Mr.  Erskine,  then  British  minister  at  the  Amer- 
ican court;  but  a  wound  inflicted  upon  national  honour,  is 
always  slow  in  healing ;  and  although  Mr.  Rose  was  sent 
to  America  on  a  special  mission  to  effect  an  accommoda- 
tion, the  masterly  diplomatic  correspondence  of  Mr.  Mon- 
roe, then  Secretary  of  State,  presented  the  subject  to  his 
countrymen,  in  such  determined  and  dignified  language, 
that  although  all  the  atonement  and  reparation  which  Bri- 
tain could  make,  was  made,  yet,  like  a  secret  malady  in  a 
robust  svstem,  it  preyed  upon  the  feelings  of  all  true  Amer- 
icans, and  especially  upon  those  attached  to  the  nautical 
profession  ;  and  upon  no  one  more  than  upon  Com.  Mur- 
ray. 

Although  he  had  now  arrived  at  the  head  of  the  profes- 
sion, and  was  senior  to  all  the  Post  captains  and  Commo- 
dores in  the  American  Naval  Register,  yet  the  Navy  De- 
partment chose  to  detain  him  at  home. 

Certainly  he  was  of  vast  importance,  from  his  unequal- 


(  OM.  ALEX  \M)KK    vil  in;  w.  oil 

fed  experience,  in  the  '' home  department ;"  yet  like  Bri- 
tish admirals  and  able  American  naval  offi<  ers,  he  wu  te- 
nacious ot*  rank;  not  only  from  seniority,  but  from  abilit) 

to  command. 

Because  Vdmiral  John  Jervis,  afterward  Earl  of  St. 
Vincent,  and  now  lirst  Lord  of  Admiralty,  designated  Ho- 
ratio NeJsion  to  command  a  squadron,  detached  against 
the  French  fleet  menacing  Egypt,  John  Orde,  mentor  to 
Nelson,  challenged  the  Eari,  when  they  both  met  at  home  ; 
and  had  not  the  civil  power  interfered,  John  Orde  migbl 
have  acquired  as  much  honour  (with  men  "  highly  honour- 
able,") by  conquering  John  Jervis  at  Hyde  Park,  (the 
Bladensburgh  of  England)  as  Horatio  Nelson  did  at  Obou* 
kir. 

Com.  Murray,  with  "  honours  thick  upon  him"  still  dis- 
played the  great  man  ;  for  a  great  man  cannot  be  rendered 
small  by  being  placed  by  his  government  in  a  small  place. 
But  [  must  retract.  It  is  not  a  small  place  to  be  director  of 
naval  stations,  and  ship  yards,  as  will  hereafter  be  shown. 

From  1807,  when  the  noble,  the  heroic,  the  chivalrous 
Decatur  succeeded  Barron  in  the  command  of  the  Chesa- 
peake, a  systematic  course  of  aggressions  was  pursued 
against  American  commerce,  by  the  two  great  belligerant 
powers  of  Europe — France  and  Britain  ;  and  a  "  restrict- 
ive system,"  by  way  of  temporary  retaliation,  was  resorted 
to  by  the  government  of  the  American  Republic. 

The  widely  extended  commerce  of  America,  was  sub- 
jected to  the  insatiable  grasp  of  the  Orders  in  Council  of 
Britain,  and  the  Berlin  and  Milan  decrees  of  France,  when 
abroad  ;  and  detained  in  port  when  at  home. 

Each  was  almost  equally  destructive  of  national  and  in 


312  NAVAL  HEROES. 

dividual  prosperity.     The  whole  system  of  American  bu- 
siness was  diverted  from  its  established  channel. 

American  seamen,  amounting  to  as  many  as  an  eighlh  of 
a  million,  were  driven  from  their  wonted  employ,  and  com- 
pelled, for  subsistence,  to  become  followers  of  the  plough, 
handlers  of  the  scythe,  sickle  and  hoe,  or  spinners  of  cot- 
ton. 

Having  from  change  to  change  been  reduced  from  inde- 
pendence to  a  bare  competency — from  active  pursuits,  to 
the  irksome  business  of  gathering  in  out-standing  debts, 
from  debtors  deprived  almost  of  the  means  of  payment,  by 
loss  of  prosperous  business,  Americans  demanded  of  their 
government  a  decisive  course. 

In  1812  America  "  was  herself  again."  In  the  war  of 
1755,  she  had  driven  Frenchmen  from  their  American 
colonies.  In  the  war  of  1775  she  compelled  Britain  to 
surrender  all  their  American  colonies  excepting  those  they 
had  conquered  from  France  for  her,  when  Americans  were 
subjected  to  British  power. 

In  the  war  of  1798,  she  had,  by  her  infant  navy,  compel- 
led France  to  respect — yea,  to  fear  the  American  flag. 

In  the  war  of  1802,  with  the  Turks,  she  had  completely 
humbled  that  portion  of  the  dominions  of  the  "  Sublime 
Porte,"  bordering  upon  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean. 

Com.  Murray  was  born  the  year  the  first  of  these  wars 
broke  out.  The  second  of  these  wars,  of  nearly  eight 
years  continuance,  he  went  completely  through.  The 
third  he  also  passed  through  as  serviceably  and  as  victori- 
ously as  the  second.  In  the  fourth  war,  he  succeeded  the 
first  commander,  and  just  begun  to  conquer,  when  he  was 
checked  in  his  progress,  and  called  home. 

When  the  fifth  war  in  which  his  countrymen  were  en- 


COM.  ALEXANDER   MURRAY.  H3 

i  with  a  foreign  foe  commenced,  he  onc<   ro<  r<    iU  p- 
ped  forth  as  the  champion  <>f  his  countrj . 

Having  been  neglected  1>\  preceding  Se<  retariee  of  the 
N:«\  \ .  from  1802,  the  Secretary  in  1812  found  a  sorl  of  ei 
cusc  for  detaining  him  Mill  at  home  !  ! 

It  is  -aid  that  defective  hearing  was  again  urged  as  a  rea- 
son why  i\n>  faithful  and  victorious  veteran  should  -till  be 
i  oneigned  to  some  domestic  station. 

It  was  no  objection  to  Nelson  that  he  had  lost  one  eye  , 
and  the  fact  that  his  last  despatches  to  the  admiralty  were 
signed  by  his  left  hand,  for  the  want  of  a  right  one  (and 
Com.  Barclay  at  Lake  Erie  had  but  one  arm)  shows  that 
our  bitter  enemy,  when  carrying  their  arms  against  almost 
the  whole  of  the  world,  never  degrade  their  own  heroes  by 
neglecting  them. 

If,  at  a  time  of  such  high  excitement  in  our  government, 
from  the  unceasing  aggressions  of  Britain,  and  the  deep  and 
hostile  machinations  of  a  secret  domestic  junto,  made  pel- 
lucid as  glass,  during  the  progress  of  the  war — If  political 
considerations  had  any  influence  upon  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment in  designating  officers,  they  surely  ought  to  have  pre- 
ponderated in  favour  of  Com.  Murray  ;  for  not  an  Ameri- 
can who  inhaled  American  air,  was  a  more  sincere,  d-evo- 
ted,  and  patriotic  friend  to  the  Republic,  or  more  deter- 
mined enemy  to  Britain. 

As  Andrew  Jackson's  Irish  ancestors  had  been  almost 
annihilated  by  British  vengeance,  so  had  Alexander  Mur- 
ray's Scots  ancestors  been  banished  by  the  same  power; 
and  both  were  born  Americans.  A  parallel  of  services  ren- 
dered by,  and  rewards  bestowed  upon,  each,  will  not  be 
attempted. 

Com.  Murray's  attachment  to  his  country  was   never 


314  NAVAL  HEROES. 

evidenced  by  inflated  protestations  of  patriotism;  nor  his 
decided  opposition  to  Britain  by  noisy  and  frothy  declama- 
tion. He  surely  had  no  predilection  for  France,  for  he 
had  fought  that  power  nearly  half  as  long  as  he  had  Bri- 
tain. He  was  not  merely  eo  nomine,  American,  but  he  was 
in  heart  and  soul  an  American  ;  and  his  body  carried  hon- 
ourable wounds,  received  in  the  cause  of  his  country  ;  and 
his  archives,  now  in  the  hands  of  his  surviving  friends,  show 
that  he  carried  arms  and  carried  them  victoriously  against 
Britons,  Frenchmen  and  Turks,  for  one  eighth  of  a  cen- 
tury. 

In  1812,  this  ardent  veteran  fervently  wished  for  an  op- 
portunity to  afford  his  active  aid  in  securing  the  independ- 
ence by  that  war,  which  was  acquired  in  the  arduous  con- 
flict, the  War  of  the  Revolution. 

In  the  campaigns  of  1812  and  1 3,  he  saw  many  officers 
of  the  highest  grade  taking  the  field,  many  years  older  than 
himself;  and  he  panted  to  resort  to  the  ocean  as  the  thea- 
tre of  his  exertions. 

He  longed  to  meet  the  inveterate  foe  of  America,  which 
assailed  his  country  in  1775,  comparatively  an  infant  upon 
the  ocean,  to  what  she  had  become,  (small  as  her  marine 
was)  in  1812. 

His  application  for  a  command,  correspondent  with  his 
rank,  was  received  with  the  utmost  respect,  at  the  Navy 
Department ;  for  Com.  Murray  had  too  much  weight  of 
character — too  much  dignity,  to  meet  with  a  disdainful  re- 
pulse. 

In  the  Executive  at  that  period,  indeed,  in  all  the  pre- 
ceding Presidents,  he  had  found  friends  who  evinced  their 
high  estimation  of  his  character,  by  their  courteous  deport- 
ment, and  marked  attention  to  him.     But  owing  either  to 


-  OM.  ALEXANDER   Ml  RR  \\. 

ior  influence  around  the  Navj  Department]  more 
potent  than  the  Department  itself,  or  Borne  other  unfath- 
omable cause,  with  which  "  strangers  intermeddle  not," 
Com.  Murray's  senior  claim  to  command,  was  granted  to 
In-  juniors  ;  for  every  PosM  'aptain  in  the  American  Na- 
vy was  junior  to  him  at  the  commencement  of  the  second 
war  between  the  American  Republic  and  the  Kingdom  o( 
Great-Britain. 

It  is  readily  admitted  that  Com.  Murray  retained  his 
rank  in  the  Navy — that  he  was  paid— that  every  man  in 
America  who  could  read,  and  boys  who  could  not  read,  but 
who  could  be  taught  the  Naval  Register,  as  boys  sometime*- 
learn  the  alphabet  and  catechism  by  recitation,  pronoun- 
ced the  name  of  Alexander  Murray,  JirsU 

As  a  first-rate  ship,  with  timbers  as  sound  as  they  were 
when  they  studded  the  mountain's  side,  is  sometimes  laid 
up  "  in  ordinary"  until  the  "  powers  that  be"  put  them  in 
commission,  so  this  veteran  warrior  was  detained  in  port, 
while  many  aspiring  and  gallant  young  officers,  who  were 
Midshipmen  when  he  was  Commander  of  a  squadron,  were 
sent  forth  to  encounter  an  enemy  which  he  had  conquered 
when  still  younger  than  they  were. 

While  Com.  Murray  was  at  home,  presiding  in  Courts- 
martial  for  the  trial  of  his  juniors,  who  lost  their  ships  by 
the  war  of  the  elements,  or  by  the  overwhelming  superiority 
of  force  of  the  enemy. — While,  with  his  countrymen,  he  was 
exulting  in  the  splendid  victories  of  that  navy  in  which  he 
served  in  the  whole  naval  warfare  with  France,  until  the 
peace  in  1802,  and  of  which  he  was  Commander  in  Chief 
in  the  Mediterranean  in  1802  and  3;  he  was  deprived  of 
an  opportuniy  of  adding  to  the  number  of  battles  in  which 
he  had  fought,  and  to  the  victories  he  had  won. 


316  NAVAL  HEROES. 

Although  his  advice  and  counsel,  from  his  superior  judg- 
ment and  practical  knowledge,  were  of  incalculable  ser- 
vice during  the  last  war,  yet  he  would  have  much  prefer- 
red to  have  died  in  the  arms  of  victory,  yea,  in  the  hour  of 
defeat ;  or,  as  many  of  his  younger  brethren  did,  to  have 
returned  the  Conquering  Hero. 

The  achievements  of  the  war  of  1812,  were  heightened 
with  exploits  in  the  little  American  navy  of  equal  splen- 
dour with  those  of  any  period  since  the  power  of  nations 
was  exemplified  in  floating  batteries. 

To  mention  names  in  the  order  in  which  they  stand  ac- 
cording to  seniority,  and  not  regarding  the  time  when  vic- 
tories were  obtained  over  H.  B.  Majesty's  ships  of  war  of 
equal,  and  often  of  superior  force — and  what  was  of  as 
great,  or  greater  detriment  to  the  enemy,  and  benefit  to 
the  Republic,  the  capture  and  destruction  of  the  immense, 
amount  of  British  merchandise,  and  protection  of  our  own 
— the  names  of  Rodgers,  Bainbridge,  Decatur,*  Stewart. 
Hull,  Chauncey,  Porter,  Jones,  Morris,  Perry,*  Macdon- 
ough,  Warrington,  *Blakeley,  &c.  were  familiar  with  eve- 
ry reader  of  the  journals  of  the  day.  But  the  name  of 
Murray,  senior  to  them  all,  was  not — excepting  with  those 
who  knew  and  who  duly  appreciated  the  vast  services  he 
had  previously  rendered  to  the  Republic. 

The  unqualified  respect  and  admiration  of  the  surviving 
veterans  of  the  revolution — of  the  statesmen  who  guided 
the  helm  of  state,  when  American  naval  officers  made  im- 
perious Frenchmen  bow,  and  merciless  Turks  tremble, 
was  a  full  measure  of  consolation  to  this  dignified  warrior, 
conscious  as  he  was  of  his  own  services,  and  his  own  high 
deserts. 

This  time-honoured  and  war-worn  hero,  knew  that  he 

*  Dead. 


COM.    ALEXANDER   Mi  in:  \\ . 

had  been  prodigal  of  his  blood  in  the  cause  of  his  country 
from  his  boyhood  ;  and  that  he  should  reap  a  rich  harvest 
of  reward  in  the  plaudit-  of  a  grateful  people. 

1 1<  lived  to  rejoice  in  the  peace  of  1 8 1  .;>,  and  to  exult  ii 
the  augmented  glory  of  die  American  navy.  The  navy  had 
become  the  theme  of  all  Americans,  of  all  parties ; 
from  thai  day  to  the  time  when  these  bastj  Bketches  are 
writing,  (1823)  every  American  na\al  officer,  from  a  Post 
Captain  to  a  midshipman,  finds  a  ready  passport  to  the 
presence  of  the  great — the  circles  of  the  refined,  and  even 
to  the  admiration  of  the  fair. 

When  the  gust  of  joy,  at  the  conclusion  of  an  honourable 
peace,  had  subsided  into  tranquillized  pleasure,  and  the 
high  honours  and  rewards  to  the  officers  of  the  army,  as 
well  as  the  navy,  had  been  apportioned,  the  sound  judg- 
ment and  deep  penetration  of  the  American  cabinet,  di- 
rected its  attention  to  those  who  could  best  advance  the 
growing  importance  and  future  greatness  of  the  American 
navy  in  the  "  home  department,"  as  America  was  at  peace 
with  all  the  world. 

Alexander  Murray  was  appointed  Commandant  of  the 
Navy  Yard  at  Philadelphia  ;  and,  as  will  be  shown  in  the 
conclusion,  he  soon  evinced  that  he  still  possessed  a  sound 
mind,  in  a  sound  body. 

As  to  his  mental  faculties,  the  result  of  his  exertions  wili 
elucidate  their  original  and  augmented  vigour.  As  to  his 
bodily  powers  it  will  be  shown  that  he  could  see — that  he 
could/eel — that  he  could  even  "  hear.''1 

To  adopt  a  fashionable  expression,  the  small  American 
navy  had  "  conquered  a  peace"  with  France  in  1802 — with 
Tripoli  in   1305 — had  essentially  hastened  a  peace  with 

Britain  in  1815;  and  one  of  the  greatest  conquests  it  had 

42 


318  NAVAL  HEROES, 

made,  it  had  "  conquered  the  principle"  that  a  navy  wa? 
the  most  safe,  most  efficient,  most  immediate,  and  least 
expensive  mode  of  defending  the  coast  of  our  vast  Repub- 
lic, and  if  necessary,  carrying  on  offensive  operation? 
against  her  enemies. 

Most  safe,  because  it  is  the  crowning  glory  of  American 
seamen,  never  to  desert  from  their  country,  or  to  turn 
their  arms  against  her.  In  their  floating  garrisons,  they 
never  annoy  their  countrymen,  or  depredate  upon  their 
earnings. 

Most  efficient,  because  a  ship  of  war,  has  her  crew,  her 
munitions,  her  stores,  her  implements  of  movement,  and 
all  the  "  pomp  and  circumstance  of  war,"  always  in  com- 
plete preparation. 

Most  immediate,  because,  at  a  "  moment's  warning," 
they  move  with  the  celerity  of  the  wind,  and,  with  the 
power  and  celerity  of  lightning,  strike  the  approaching  foe. 

Least  expensive,*  because,  74s,  44s,  36s,  18s,  &c.  can 
face  a  foreign  enemy  destined  against  any  port  from  Ma- 
chias  to  New-Orleans  5  and,  when  necessary,  can  concen- 
trate their  dispersed  power  at  any  given  point,  (if  the  ex- 
pression is  allowable)  like  so  many  portable  fortifications. 
Therefore,  as  a  guarda  costa,  naval  power  is  almost  incal- 
culably less  expensive  than  the  immense  number  of  sta- 
tionary fortifications  necessary  to  defend  a  sea -board  ex- 
tending from  the  30th  to  the  15th  degree  of  north  latitude. 

For  centuries,  the  "  Wooden  Walls  of  Old  England" 
have  been  her  impregnable  defence.  They  have  defended 
that  "  fast  anchored  isle"  from  the  Armada  of  Philip  of 
Spain,  to  the  Flotilla  of  Napoleon  of  France. 

But  while  orators  are  exhausting  their  eloquence,  and 
poeta  are  draining  their  store-houses  of  imagination  in  eu- 


COM.  ALEXANDER   MURR  IY.  <3J'. 

logizing  kt  Naval  Heroes ;"  and  painters  are  delineati 
vivnl  colours,  naval  achievements,  it  ought  not  to  be  for- 
gotten, thai  while  expatiating  upon  the  astonishing  effect  ol 
nasal  power,  (lie  causi  "fii  should  come  in  for  a  Bhare  of 
consideration*     That  cause  originates  in   Navai    Archi 

rm  T\  RE,  and  N  \\  \i.  Arm  \mi.\  i   al  home. 

The  following  documentary  evidence  of  the  effici 
of  naval  defence,   is  from  a   Secretar)   of  the  navy  who 
■•  knew  what  \\o  said,  and  -aid  what  he  knew." 

"  The  importance  of  a  permanent  naval  establishment 
appears  to  be  sanctioned  by  the  voice  of  the  nation  :  and 
1  have  a  satisfaction  in  stating,  that  the  means  of  its  gradu- 
al increase  are  completely  within  the  reach  of  our  national 
resources,  independently  of  any  foreign  country.  The 
materials  for  building  and  equipping  ships  of  war  are  all 
at  command.  Steps  have  been  taken  to  ascertain  the  best 
growth  and  quantities  of  timber  for  naval  construction, 
preparatory  to  contracts  and  purchases.  The  want  of  a 
mould  loft  for  the  naval  constructor  to  lay  out  the  moulds 
by  which  the  timber  is  to  be  cut  and  shaped  previous  to 
transportation,  has  delayed  the  completion  of  arrangements 
for  an  adequate  supply,  A  building  has  been  erected  at 
the  navy  yard  in  this  city  for  that  purpose,  and  will  soon 
be  finished,  when  the  business  will  progress. 

Cannon  founderies,  manufactories  of  sheet  copper,  cor- 
dage, canvas,  and  the  mechanical  branches,  are  in  a  state 
to  furnish  the  several  supplies  mhich  may  be  required. 

The  commerce  of  the  United  States  increasing  with  the 
resources  and  population  of  the  country,  will  require  a 
commensurate  protection,  which  a  navy  alone  can  afford  ; 
and  the  experience  derived  from  the  active  and  vigorous 
employment  of  a  limited  navy,  during  the  period  of  the  late 
war,  has  demonstrated  its  efficient  utility. 


320  NAVAL  HEROES. 

I  do,  therefore,  with  confidence  recommend  an  annual 
increase  of  our  navy,  of  one  ship  of  the  rate  of  seventy- 
four  guns,  two  frigates  of  the  first  class,  rates  at  forty-four 
guns,  and  two  sloops  of  war,  which  can  be  built  with  the 
surplussage  of  smaller  timber,  and  with  a  great  saving  in 
that  material. 

The  act  to  increase  the  navy,  passed  January  2d  1313, 
authorized  the  building  of  "  four  ships  to  rate  not  less  than 
seventy-four  guns,  and  six  frigates  to  rate  forty- four  guns 
each."  This  act  has  partly  been  carried  into  effect,  by 
building  three  ships  of  the  rate  of  seventy-four  guns,  and 
three  frigates  of  forty-four  guns,  in  the  Atlantic  ports. — 
Txie  residue  of  the  appropriation  under  that  act,  was  ap- 
plied to  the  building  of  large  ships  and  frigates  upon  Lake 
Ontario. 

The  concentration  of  our  navy  in  one  or  two  of  the 
principal  ports  of  the  United  States,  where  the  depth  of 
water  is  sufficient  for  the  convenient  ingress  and  egress  of 
the  larger  vessels,  will  necessarily  lead  to  the  enlargement 
of  the  navy  yards  at  such  places,  with  docks  for  repairs, 
and  the  collection  of  all  important  materials  for  the  arma- 
ment and  equipments  of  the  different  classes  of  vessels,  in 
order  to  bring  them  into  active  service,  upon  any  emer- 
gency, with  the  advantage  of  combined  force. 

A  general  system  for  the  gradual  and  permanent  increase 
of  the  navy,  combining  all  the  various  objects  connected 
with  an  enlarged  naval  establishment,  such  as  building 
docks,  and  extending  the  accommodation  of  navy  yards 
and  arsenals  of  general  deposit,  will  form  the  subjects  of  a 
more  extensive  report  to  be  laid  before  congress  during 
the  present  session." 

To  such  energetic,  and  scientific  minds  as  Alexander 


(  OM.   \ j  i\  \NDi:i;  MURRAY. 

\li  RRAY9S  ;    :tli(l  BUI  1 1  t  licit  nt  k;i|  and   pi.Kli,  ;t(  ;tihi|-i-  ac 

lli  kphreys,  and  E<  ford,  air  our  unequalled  captains  in 
the  ua\>  indebted  for  much  of  the  renown  justly  atta<  he< 
io  their  deathless  names. 

Bui  the  aspiring  ions  of  fame,  when  pressing  forwaid, 
are  (<><>  prom  to  forget  the  unostentatious  aids  who  facili 
tate  their  progress  to  it-  lofty  temple* 

When  Com.  Murray  assumed  the  command  of  the  Navj 
Yard  at  Philadelphia,  he  brought  into  operation  the  exten- 
sive and  minute  knowledge  he  had  acquired  from  long  and 
continued  experience. 

In  Mr.  Humphreys,  he  found  a  coadjutor  exactly  cor- 
responding with  his  own  views  ;  and  they  went  forward, 
hand  in  hand,  supporting  and  supported,  in  their  highly  im- 
portant pursuit. 

To  shew  the  inquisitive  reader  the  progress  of  Naval  Ar- 
chitecture, I  present  him  with  a  copy  of  the  following  doc- 
ument in  the  Navy  Department,  prepared  nearly  twenty- 
five  years  since,  by  one  of  the  architects  just  mentioned. 

It  is  a  precious  document,  as  it  goes  to  show,  that,  as  the 
ship-builders,  in  the  employ  of  government,  have  been  ad- 
vancing with  rapid  strides  towards  perfection  in  the  con- 
struction of  ships  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  rates,  they 
have,  in  about  the  same  degree,  diminished  the  expenses  of 
building  and  fitting  them. — 

"  Estimate  of  the  expense  of  building  and  equipping  a  7  t 
gun  ship  of   1G20  tons,  prepared  some  years   since    by 
Joshua  Humphreys,  Esq.  of  Philadelphia,   a  shipwright 
of  great  respectability  and  professional  talents  : 
Live  oak  timber,  <  10,000 

White  oak  and  pine  ditto.  30,000 

Labour.  85.100 


!2-2  NAVAL  HEROES. 


Cables,  rigging,  &c. 

32,400 

Smith's  work, 

30,400 

Anchors,  marling, 

8,700 

Sailmaker's  bills,  two  suits,  including 

canvass, 

16,200 

Joiner's  bill,  including  stuff. 

7,800 

Carver's  bill, 

1,620 

Tanner's  ditto, 

700 

Rigger's  do. 

2,240 

Painter's  do. 

3,240 

Cooper's  do. 

4,860 

Blockmaker's  do. 

3,210 

Boatbuilder's  do. 

1,620 

Plumber's  do. 

2,430 

Ship  Chandlery. 

9,720 

Turner's  bill, 

1,215 

Copper  bolts, 

10,960 

Sheathing  copper,  nails,  &c. 

17,440 

Woollens  for  sheathing. 

1,215 

311,100 

Contingencies, 

31,600 

Total,  $  342,700 

The  frigate  President,  of  1444  tons  cost  the  sum  of 
$220,910.  The  frigates  Constitution,  United  States,  and 
Philadelphia,  probably  the  same  sum  each.  These  frigates 
and  some  others,  were  built  twenty-five  years  since;  be- 
fore the  naval  warfare  with  France  commenced. 

Americans  have,  by  some  piquant  foreigners,  been  de- 
nominated a  "  cyphering  race" — by  others  u  shop-keepers, 
pedlars  and  jockies" — and  by  others   "  penny-wise  and 


COM.   \u:\  \.\ui::;   mi  i;i;  w  . 

pound-foolish."     If.  twenty- fiv<  ,  although 

in  the  midst  of  the  "golden  days  of  commercial  prosp<  ri 
our  cyphering  countrymen  could  calculate  far  i  i 
^certain  thai    twelve   74's  and  twenty-four  frigates  oi 
li  guns,  at  the  ahove  rate  would  amount  to  $9,414,2 
and  that  the  annual  expense  of  a  74;   in   commission  wa 
$202,1  io,  and  a  frigate  oi  .  about  $\  55,000, 

might  well  have  asked,  when   "counting  the  cost"  whal 
will  this  come  to  .; 

The  profound  statesmen,   and  the   profound   leaders   oi 
statesmen  in  the  American  Republic,  when  they  commen- 
ced the  establishment  of  our  present  Navy,  aimed  at  noth 
but  defence  against  foreign  augre^-ion. 

No  mad  or  diabolical  schemes  of  foreign  conquest  en 
tercd  into  their  views.  The  safety  of  the  Republic  wa£ 
committed  to  their  care;  and  they  iiitle  thought  of  drain- 
ing its  wealth  to  gratify  the  wicked  projects  of  unhallowed 
ambition.  This  steady  and  magnanimous  course  has  been 
pursued  to  near  the  close  of  the  first  quarter  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  ;  and  ten  millions  of  happy  and  independ- 
ent freemen  now  reap  the  fruits  of  their  wisdom. 

Our  respectable  navy  has  progressed  gradually  from  in- 
fancy towards  manhood.  It  has  afforded  protection  to  our 
commerce — it  has  chastised  our  foes  abroad;  and  even 
now  can  afford  protection  to  our  immense  coa>t — and. 
Americans  feel  not  the  burden  of  it. 

Turn  now  to  the  vaunting  ••  Queen  of  the  Ocean"  and 
behold  her.  to  be  sure  at  the  height  of  Naval  glory,  and  in 
the  lowest  depth  of  national  distress,  national  bankruptcy 
and  (remember  India)  national  guilt  !  ! 

I  feel  both  pleasure  and  pain  in  presenting  to  the  reader 
the  following   picture,    drawn  by  the  hand  of  a   master. 


NAVAL  HEROES. 

Pleasure,  that  we  find  no  resemblance  to  it  in  our  Repub= 
lie — Pain,  that  the  land  of  our  ancestors  presents,  in  per- 
spective, the  following  figure  : 

"  We  have  before  us  the  warning  fate  of  the  British  na- 
tion, where  the  avails  of  the  hard  earnings  and  the  life- labor 
of  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  are  screwed  from  them 
to  glut  the  rapacity  of  an  individual,  who  regards  them  less 
than  he  does  his  dogs.  Time  was,  when  the  people  of  the 
British  Lies  would  not  have  borne  with  this  ;  but,  with  the 
people's  money,  the  devouring  government  buys  men  and 
arms  to  enable  it  to  wrest  the  means  of  defence  from  the 
oppressed,  build  prisons  to  incarcerate,  and  gallowses  to 
hang  those  on,  who  dare  to  murmur  or  complain." 

To  the  departed  Alexander  Murray  is  our  Republic  vastly 
indebted  for  that  system  of  economy,  which  for  the  last  years 
of  his  laborious  life,  he  introduced  into  our  navy  yards. 

He  had  one  of  those  rare  minds  which  enabled  him  to 
reach  the  most  comprehensive  views  ;  and,  at  the  same 
time,  to  investigate  the  minutest  concerns,  relative  to  his 
important  station.  It  is  related  of  Nelson,  that  after  he 
fell  mortally  wounded  upon  his  deck,  and  as  his  officers 
were  carrying  him  below,  he  exclaimed,  in  the  agony  of 
death,  -  doirt  you  see  the  tiller  is  not  right  ?"  A  great 
mind  is  never  too  exalted  to  descend  to  things  that  are 
small,  and  never  so  little  as  not  to  embrace  things  that  are 
great. 

Com.  Murray,  with  the  constant  aid  of  Mr.  Humphreys, 
the  chief  shipwright,  spared  no  labour  nor  pains  in  the  very 
important  business  of  superintending  the  erection  of  public 
ships. 

Public  property,  to  an  immense  amount,  was  at  his  dis- 
posal ;  and  waste  and  improvidence,  unless  palpably  enor- 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURRAY.  325 

mous,  would  pass  unheeded.  Prom  the  immense  variety 
of  articles  necessary  in  the  construction  and  equipment  of 

a  public  ship,  and  from  the  great  varict)  of  artists  engaged 
in  working  them,  losses,  too  trifling  to  mention  in  detail, 
but  too  serious  to  be  overlooked  in  the  aggregate,  ma)  be 
incurred  by  public  agents,  who  arc  more  anxious  to  amass 
a  fortune  for  themselves,  and  to  aggrandize  their  posterity* 
than  to  advance  the  essential  and  permanent  interest  oi  the 
Republic. 

There  is  often  a  pompous  affectation  discernible  in 
public  officers  and  public  agents,  which  seems  to  render  it 
inconsistent  with  their  official  dignity  to  descend  to  the  mi- 
nutiae of  debit  and  credit — day-book  and  ledger — income 
and  expenditure. 

The  channels  through  which  wealth  flows  into  the  na- 
tional treasury  are  few — the  outlets  are  as  numerous  as 
their  calls  for  supply  are  insatiable  ;  and  like  the  many 
mouths  of  the  Nile,  or  those  of  our  own  majestic  Mississip- 
pi, disgorge  the  contents  as  fast  as  they  are  accumulated. 

That  portion  of  public  expenditure  which  is  bestowed 
upon  Executive,  Legislative,  Judiciary,  Army  and  Navy 
officers,  in  specific  compensations,  for  services  rendered 
the  Republic  is  not  here  meaned — the  moderate  amount  of 
salaries  and  pa)  to  such  men,  who  are  fit  for  the  stations 
they  fill,  is  acquiesced  in  by  Americans  with  pleasure,  and 
looked  upon  by  foreigners  with  astonishment. 

But  that  expenditure  is  meaned,  which  consists  of  annual 
grants  of1'  round  numbers,"  to  be  expended,  and  accoun- 
ted tor,  not  only  with  mathematical  accuracy,  but  with 
sound  judgment,  and  rigid  economy.  Instance  the  grants 
for  the  Commissary,  Quartermaster,  and  Hospital  depart- 
ments. 

43 


32b  NAVAL  HEROES. 

But  of  all  annual  grants,  that  for  the  "  gradual  increase 
of  the  Navy,"  according  to  its  amount,  is  of  the  greatest 
importance  to  the  American  Republic  ;  and  it  requires 
the  most  sound  heads,  honest  hearts,  and  skilful  hands,  to 
make  an  advantageous  application  of  it. 

Entering  such  a  "  protestation,"  as  Coke  calls  the  "  ex- 
clusion of  a  conclusion,"  against  the  supposition  that  this 
sketch  is  designed  as  an  eulogy,  it  is  averred  that  Alexan- 
der Murray  possessed  such  a  head — such  a  heart — such  a 
hand. 

He  availed  himself  of  the  knowledge  and  wisdom  of  his 
predecessors  so  far  as  it  was  tested  by  the  sanction  of 
"  successful  experiment ;"  but  he  never  said  to  experiment. 
"  thus  far  shalt  thou  go  and  no  farther." 

Essential  improvement  in  the  mechanic  arts,  oftentimes 
equals  and  sometimes  surpasses  original  invention.  Com. 
Murray  had  an  original  strength  of  mind,  which,  while  it 
enabled  him  to  comprehend  the  principles  upon  which  hu- 
man inventions  were  founded,  enabled  him  also  to  extend 
them. 

Architecture  is  justly  ranked  amongst  the  sciences  ;  and 
it  is  certainly  amongst  the  first  and  most  useful  arts.  But, 
it  will  readily  be  admitted,  that  there  is  scarcely  an  analogy 
between  land-architecture,  and  naval  architecture.  *The 
ancient  orders  of  architecture,  in  erecting  temples,  palaces 
and  mansions  upon  earth  ;  and  the  little  improvement,  and 
great  injuries  they  have  sustained  by  modern  architects, 
are  easily  learned  by  the  commonest  ability,  and  reduced 
to  practice  by  mere  mechanical  ingenuity. 

So  plain  is  the  correct  road  in  this  art,  that  he  who  read? 
may  run  in  it ;  and  if,  by  ignorance  or  wilfulness,  he  strays 
*  Sec  "  Life  of  Decatur." 


I  OM.  ALEXANDER    MURRAY. 

from  it,  he  gets  involved  in  an  inextricable  labyrinth  of 
blunders,  from  which  he  can  only  be  relieved  bj  retracing 
his  wandering  steps. 

But  in  the  erection  of  Ships,  there  can  hardly  be  said  to 
be  an  established  principle  ;  for  where  there  is,  there  may 
be  uniformity.  Why  is  it  often  said,  that  such  and  such  a 
ship  is  the  best  sailer  in  the  American  or  British  navy  ? 
Wh\  did  Com.  Decatur  say  so  of  the  Macedonian  ?  and 
why  was  his  noble  father,  in  the  Philadelphia,  beaten  by 
Capt.  Tryon  in  the  Connecticut  in  a  sailing  match  ?  \\  hy 
did  the  naval  architects  of  Britain  take  models  from  the 
wretched  Chesapeake,  when  broken  up,  when  she  was 
deemed  altogether  the  most  ill-constructed  ship  in  the 
American  navy  .;  It  was  owing  even  to  her  superiority  over 
their  own.  If  the  President  and  the  Essex  frigates  were 
not.  too  much  battered  and  riddled  by  the  squadrons  of 
Commodores  Hays  and  Hillyar,  to  have  reached  British 
ports,  perhaps  the  ship  carpenters  of  his  majesty  Geo.  IV. 
may  derive  a  still  greater  benefit  from  scrutinizing  the 
wrecks  of  them.  They  are  the  only  American  models 
they  will  ever  have  in  their  ports,  unless  they  are  gained 
by  the  same  overwhelming  superiority  of  force.  As  to  the 
Chesapeake,  Britain  is  welcome  to  her — she  was  disgraced 
by  British  outrage  in  1807,  and  captured  by  British  strata- 
gem in  1 8 1 3. 

Although  our  navy  cannot  number  the  years  contained  in 
a  quarter  of  a  century  ;  in  point  of  elegance,  strength, 
power,  and  celerity,  our  ships,  most  decidedly  surpass  any 
that  have  floated  upon  the  ocean,  from  the  days  of  Carthage 
to  this  age.  Witness  the  escapes  of  the  Constitution,  Ar- 
gus, Hornet,  Peacock,  &c.  and  the  victories  of  every  one 
of  them  in  fair  and  equal  combat — and,  to  mention  the 


328  NAVAL  HEROES. 

most  signal  instance  of  rapidity  in  movement,  witness  the 
Guerriere,  and  Com.  Decatur's  second*  squadron,  of  nine 
sail  in  1815. 

It  is  to  the  skill,  genius,  and  inventive  faculties  of  our 
Navy-Commissioners,  Superintendents  of  Navy-yards,  and 
naval  architects,  that  we  owe  this  American  superiority, 
in  the  construction  of  our  ships.  But  their  armament  also 
is  of  prime  consideration. 

The  reader  may  be  gratified  by  a  very  brief  sketch ;  made 
from  voluminous  documents  of  the  comparative  force  of 
ships  of  different  rate. 

In  the  British  navy  there  are  four  denominations  of  ships, 

1.  Ships  of  the  line,  from  the  largest,  down  to  Sixty-fours. 

2.  Fifty-fours,  to  fifties,  a  distinct  class,  but  rated  with  line 
of  battle  ships.  3.  Forties,  to  Twenties,  unexceptionably 
rated  as  Frigates.  All  the  foregoing  are  commanded  by 
Post-Captains.  4.  Eighteens  to  Sixteens,  are  Sloops  of 
War.  All  are  pierced  for,  and  mount  more  guns  than  they 
are  registered  at.  Besides  these,  there  are  Schooners,  Fire- 
ships,  Bombards,  Gun-boats,  Tenders,  Cutters,  &c.  &c. 

In  the  American  navy  are  Seventy-fours,  Forty-fours, 
Thirty-sixes,  Eighteens,  Brigs,  Schooners,  Gun-boats,  &c. 

The  comparative  force  of  Seventy-fours,  and  Forty- 
fours,  (although  at  first  it  may  excite  surprise)  is  as  one  to 
three.  It  is  demonstrated  thus,  a  74,  at  one  round,  dis- 
charges 3224  lbs.  of  shot,  a  44  discharges  1360  lbs.  As  the 
class  of  ships  is  increased,  the  force  is  increased,  in  pro- 
portion of  one  to  three. 

Seventy  fours  are  stronger  in  scantling  ;  thicker  in  sides 
and  bottom  ;  less  penetrable  to  shot,  and  less  liable  to  be 

*  Decatur's  first  squadron,  in  1815  was  the  President,  Hornet,  and 
Peacock. 


COM.  ALEXANDER   Ml  RRAY. 

battered.  A  Seventy-four  is  a  fair  match  for  three  1  l'a 
in  action.  To  give  the  frigates  the  most  favourable  posi- 
tion ;  two  at  the  quarter  and  stern,  and  one  abreast  of  the 
74.  From  the  superior  weight  of  metal  in  the  destructive 
batter)  of  the  74,  the  frigate  abreast  would  he  dismasted 
or  sunk  with  two  broadsides.  In  the  mean  time,  the  quar- 
ter and  stern  of  the  74,  might  not  be  essentially  injured  ; 
and  when  a  broadside  could  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the 
other  two  frigates,  they  must  share  the  fate  of  the  first. — 
Still,  three  frigates  might  take  a  74,  and  what  is  quite  as 
probable,  a  74  might  capture  or  sink  three  frigates. 

The  relative  efficiency,  of  Frigates  and  Sloops  of  War, 
is  at  least  as  one  to  two  ;  and  nearly  the  same  reasoning 
will  apply  to  them  as  to  74's  and  44's.  The  CyaDe  was 
frigate  built,  and  mounted  34  guns,  the  Levant  21,  and  yet 
the  galiant  and  accomplished  Capt.  Charles  Stewart  (from 
whose  communications  the  preceding  statement  was  col- 
lected) captured  them  both  in  40  minutes. 

From  the  preceding  concise  sketch,  the  reader  may  have 
a  faint  conception  of  the  importance  of  the  duties  devolv- 
ed upon   Com.   Murray,  as  Superintendant  of  the  Navy 
Yard  at  Philadelphia,  as  it  regards  Naval  Architecture  and 
Naval  Armament. 

The  Commodore  must  have  been  gratified  with  the  un- 
qualified and  undivided  approbation  of  his  intelligent  fellow 
citizens  at  home — of  inquisitive  and  investigating  visitors 
from  every  portion  of  the  Republic,  and  with  the  admira- 
tion of  distinguished  foreigners,  at  the  rapid  progress  of 
naval  science,  in  this  New  World. 

But  how  much  would  the  satisfaction  of  this  veteran  offi- 
cer, and  practical  financier  have  been  abated,  if,  in  the 
midst  of  this  concord  of  approbation;  many  sullen  and  di6- 


330  NAVAL  HEROES. 

cordant  notes — many  "  curses,  not  only  loud,  but  deep,v- 
were  heard  from  a  people,  groaning  under  a  weight  of  taxes 
excise,  and  impositions  upon  every  thing  they  ate,  drank, 
and  wore — the  ground  upon  which  they  walked — the  horses 
Upon  which  they  rode,  and  the  bridles  that  guided  them — 
upon  the  chaises  in  which  they  rolled  along,  and  upon  the 
harness  that  glittered  upon  their  horses — upon  the  light  of 
heaven  that  enlivened  their  habitation  by  day,  upon  the 
candle  that  enabled  them  to  labour,  or  study  at  night,  and 
upon  the  taper  that  lighted  them  to  bed — upon  the  bed  upon 
which  they  reposed,  and  upon  the  curtains  that  concealed 
them  from  intruders. 

Such  taxes  had  been  avoided  and  such  murmurs  had  al- 
ways been  prevented  by  the  provident  economical  gov- 
ernment of  the  Republic  ;  and  Com.  Murray,  with  his  co- 
adjutors, the  Naval  Commissioners,  and  the  skilful  Hum- 
phreys carried  retrenchment  and  economy  in  the  navy 
department  to  the  minutest  objects  under  their  direction 
and  superintendence. 

Twenty-five  years  ago  the  expense  of  a  74  was  $342,700 
and  of  a  44  gun  frigate,  $220,910  ;  and  the  expense  of 
smaller  rates,  in  the  same  proportion. 

It  would  fatigue  the  writer,  without  amusing  the  reader 
to  point  out  the  specific  objects  in  which  savings  to  the 
government  have  been  effected  in  the  erection  of  our  une- 
qualled ships  of  war  of  every  rate.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that 
under  the  superintendance  of  Alexander  Murray,  at  the 
navy  yard  in  Philadelphia,  ships  of  war,  of  superiour  model, 
beauty,  and  strength,  have  been  erected  at  only  a  fraction 
more  than  two  thirds  of  the  sums  just  mentioned. 

The  following  observations  upon  that  all-important  arti- 
ticle  ship  timber,  are  well  worthy  of  the  consideration  of 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURR  W. 

£uperintendants  of  Navj  Yards*     To  use  a  popular  adage 
•  an  ounce  of  experience  is  worth  a  ton  of  conjecture." 

■  \  piece  from  the  National  Intelligencer,  signed  "  Expe 
rience,"  has  induced  rue  to  offer  some  further  observations 
upon  tin-  subject.  I  had  touched  upon  it  but  slightl)  be- 
fore, and  am  always  pleased  to  hear  o[  Experience,  if  it  be 
real  1  j  founded  upon  just  e  cpt  riments.  The  subject  may  be 
useful,  but  is  not  interesting  tomany  readers.  As  an  amuse- 
ment, 1  have  attended  to  the  growth,  durability,  and  d<  i  ajf 
of  vegetable  substances  ;  but  of  ship-building  I  have  no 
practical  knowledge,  therefore  I  extend  my  observations  no 
further  than  the  two  last  qualities  in  timber  which  appear 
to  render  it  tit,  or  unlit  for  that  purpose.  Fermentation,, 
in  vegetable  substances,  is  equivalent  to  putrefaction,  in 
animal  ones.  The  three  great  agents  in  their  decomposi- 
tion or  decay,  are  heat,  air,  and  water;  the  same  whick 
support  them  when  alive.*  Jn  timbers,  water  is  the  pri- 
mitive agent,  as  it  brings  the  other  two  into  operation. 
Acting  upon  the  saccharine  matter  it  produces  spiritous 
fermentation,  and  upon  acidity,  the  acid  fermentation.  In 
its  progress,  fermentation  excites  heat  and  air.  A  more 
minute  and  technical  explanation  would  be  foreign  to  my 
purpose  ;  it  may  be  found  in  essays  expressly  upon  the 
iubject. 

I  have  seldom  found  the  saccharine  or  acid  principle  to 
abound  in  any  tree,  which  was  durable  as  a  timber.  For 
instance,  the  black  walnut  and  hickory  belong  to  the  same 
genus  of  plants,  the  walnut  to  the  taste  is  destitute  of  sac- 
charine matter,  and  the  hickory  abounds  with  it— the  con- 
sequence is,  that  the   walnut  is  as  remarkable  for  its  dura- 

*  Oxygen,  which  gives  much  life  and  spirit  to  animals  and  vegeta- 
bles, is  the  greatest  decomposer. 


332  JNAVAL  HEROES. 

bility,  as  the  hickory  for  premature  decay — when  I  speak 
of  acidity  in  timber  trees,  I  shall  confine  myself  to  the  gallic 
acid,  as  the  other  acids  are  seldom  found  in  large  trees. 
The  gallic  acid  is  a  second  great  cause  of  decay.  The  live- 
oak  has  very  little,  in  proportion  to  the  black-oak  (quercus 
tinctoria)  or  the  black  jack  (quercus  nigra)  yet  the  first 
will  last  for  half  a  century,  and  the  two  last  not  a  tenth  of 
that  time.  The  loblolly-bay  (gordonia)  abounds  with  the 
gallic  acid,  so  much  so,  that  the  bark  is  thought  better  than 
that  of  oak  for  tanning — but  the  wood,  when  exposed  to 
wet,  will  scarcely  last  a  year.  Upon  this  subject  I  could 
multiply  instances.  Both  these  secondary  causes  of  decay 
are  brought  into  operation  by  a  partial  wetting,  and  yet  may 
be  removed  by  total  immersion.  Instance,  the  furs  dug  out 
of  the  bogs  in  Ireland,  and  the  oak  piles  found  in  the 
harbour  of  the  ancient  Brundusium,  which  were  driven 
down  there  by  Julius  Caesar ;  both  of  them  in  a  sound 
state.  The  reason  is,  a  partial  wetting  excites  only  a  slight 
motion  of  the  particles,  and  produces  fermentation  ;  where- 
as, immersion  excludes  the  air,  and  on  account  of  the  affin- 
ity of  water  for  the  acid  and  saccharine,  it  will,  in  time,  at- 
tract and  diffuse  them  throughout  the  surrounding  fluid. 
Thus,  it  is,  that  timber  may  be  seasoned  and  preserved  by 
total  immersion. 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  there  is  so  little  of  the 
live  oak  in  the  southern  states  ;  and  to  make  way  for  cot- 
ton, the  little  we  have  are  constantly  falling  under  the  axe. 
It  inhabits  only  the  sea  islands,  and  a  slip  of  about  twenty 
miles  along  the  coast.  Ten  miles  from  the  sea  it  generally 
becomes  scarce  ;  but  the  turkey-oak,  which  "  Experience" 
says  is  the  second  best  timber,  abounds  in  our  uncultivated 
swamps.     Many  trees  also  attain  a  great  size  there,  which 


COM.    ILEX  iNDER    Ml  RR  \\. 

ire  seldom  used  for  an}  purpose.  The  water-oak  (quercuc 
palustris)  and  the  cotton  tree  (populous  nigra)  are  of  this 
description,  and  in  fence-rails  appear  to  be  durable.  "  Ex- 
perience'1 says  "  the  Chesapeake  frigate  had  a  numb 
her  top  timbers  of  black  cypn  --.  and  when  that  Bhip  was. 
stripped  down  at  this  navy-yard,  the  cypress  was  found  to 
be  totally  rotten,  so  thai  no  further  experiment  is  necessary 
on  cypress." — How  ominous  i>  the  name  of  the  Chesa- 
peake !  Those  timbers  could  not  have  been  black  cypi 
but  an  inferior  and  sappy  species  found  near  the 
The  region  of  the  best  cypress  commences  where  the 
flowing  of  the  tides  ceases  ;  but  one  experiment  contrary 
to  the  mass  of  experience  upon  this  subject,  is  not  sufficient. 
I  know  two  houses  built  of  cypress,  which  men  of  the  last 
century  informed  me  were  built  about  seventy  years  ago  : 
about  five  years  since  one  of  them  had  never  had  but  one 
coat  of  shingles  ;  it  was  tight,  and  both  of  them  appear  as 
though  they  would  last  seventy  years  or  more.  An  indigo 
planter  having  a  set  of  indigo  vats  to  build,  chooses  black 
cypress  for  this  purpose ;  he  calculates  that  his  vats,  al- 
though alternately  exposed  to  wet  and  heat,  will  last  thirtv 
years  before  they  begin  to  decay  at  the  grooves — after  that. 
he  or  his  sons,  if  he  be  dead,  cut  away  the  ends  of  the 
boards,  and  either  reduce  the  size  of  the  vats,  or  convert 
them  into  pannel-worked  window-sashes.  Rice  planters 
universally  prefer  black  cypress*  for  their  rice  field-trunks, 
which  are  exposed  to  the  alternation  of  the  tides.     Yellow- 

*  To  the  botanists,  there  is  a  curious  lusiis  natures  allied  to  the 
•ypress,  called  cypress  knees.  It  is  an  imperfect  tree,  wanting1  leaves 
and  branches.  They  are  said  to  be  excrescences  from  the  roots  of 
the  tree,  but  all  I  have  examined  have  perfect  roots  of  their  own. 

44 


334  NAVAL  HEROES. 

pine  is  thought  quite  inferior  for  this  purpose.  Finallyy 
cypress  boards  and  shingles  command  the  highest  price  in 
market,  and  cypress  boats  are  preferred  both  in  fresh  and 
salt  water.  Yet  upon  the  spot  where  these  things  occur 
every  day  of  our  lives,  we  are  told  from  Washington,  that 
cypress  is  worth  one  slight  experiment.  It  is  ceded,  that 
it  is  "  well  calculated  for  boats."  Now,  I  ask,  if  in  point 
of  durability  it  be  calculated  for  boats,  why  is  it  not  for 
ships,  supposing  both  to  be  exposed  to  sea  air  and  water  ? 
But  lest  it  should  be  thought  that  I  am  interested  in  the 
matter,  I  can  assure  all  who  think  it  worth  while  to  read 
my  observations,  that  I  own  no  cypress  but  the  shingles  ol 
my  house.  I  wish  only  to  contribute  my  mite  of  experi- 
ence where  it  might  be  of  service  to  my  country." 

While  this  astonishing  reduction  of  expense  in  the  erec- 
tion and  armament  of  ships  has  been  effected  in  at  least, 
one  navy  yard,  the  annual  expense  of  ships  of  war  in  com- 
mission, have  also  been  surprizingly  reduced. 

In  this  respect,  as  well  as  in  the  erection  of  ships,  it  is 
unnecessary  to  point  out  the  specific  objects  in  which  re- 
trenchments have  been  made.  Suffice  it  again  to  say,  our 
country  is  year  after  year  gradually  increasing  the  most 
efficient  defence  of  the  Republic,  and  annually  decreasing 
the  National  Debt.  Yet  Americans  scarcely  feel  a  mo- 
ment's gratitude  towards  the  indefatigable  Officers  attached 
to  the  Navy  Department,  while  Europeans  contemplate 
this  miracle  in  the  Science  and  Art  of  Republican  Govern- 
ment, with  that  wonder  which  is  the  effect  of  novelty  upon 
ignorance. 

While  the  writer  of  this  imperfect  sketch  of  the  life  of 
the  patriotic,  the  gallant,  the  faithful,  the  venerable  Mur 


,  OM.  ALEXANDER  Mi  RRAY. 

,ay,  rl.iiins  for  his  memorj  1 1 1  *  -  unqualified  reapei  t  ol  his 
jurviving  countrymen,  h<'  would  presume  to  claim  for  the 
ent  Secretary  ofthe  Navy/  and  th<  Pavy  Comraia 
turners,  then-  full  share  of  respect,  as  constituting  the  i  en 
tceofthe  American  Naval  System,  around  which  all  the 
primary  and  secondary  agents  revolve  in  the  spheres  de- 
signed for  them. 

These  claims  however,  are  wholly  unnecessary.  The 
citizens  of  the  Republic,  from  the  hoarj  headed  statesmen 
down  to  the  school-boy  with  his  satchel,  voluntarily  pour 
forth  the  notes  of  applause  in  harmonious  concord  to  the 
scientific  and  practical  powers  ofthe  officers  of  the  Navy 
Department,  and  to  the  gallautry  and  glory  of  the  off 
and  seamen  of  our  justly  renowned  navy. 

The  duties  devolved  upon  Com.  Murray  from  the  time 
he  was  superseded  in  the  command  of  the  American  squad- 
ron in  the  Mediterranean,  to  the  day  of  his  death,  had  but 
little  of  that  imposing  glare  which  draws  forth  the  gust  of 
applause  from  an  admiring  and  an  enraptured  populace. 
He  led  the  "  noiseless  tenor  of  his  way"  in  discharging 
the  more  retiring,  but  yet  no  less  important  duties  imposed 
upon  him  by  his  government  in  presiding  at  courts  of  en- 

*  The  Hon.  Smith  Thompson,  formerly  Chief  Justice  of  tbcState 
of  New  York.  I  cannot  forbear  to  extract  into  this  note  a  part  of  a 
Letter  from  a  Philadelphia  Correspondent,  as  it  goes  to  corroborate 
what  I  have  ventured  to  incorporate  in  the  preceding  Sketch.  I  E< 
(Com.  Murray)  was  slighted  and  disregarded  by  every  succeeding 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  until  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Smith  Thompson 
to  that  office,  from  whom  he  received  the  kindest  attention  and  civili 
ly  ;  but  he  has  notwithstanding  (this  slight  and  disregard,)  been  treat 
ed  with  the  most  polite  and  courteous  attention  by  all  our  Presidents 
whom  I  presume  did  not  think  proper  to  interfere  with  the  arrange- 
ments and  appointment  ofthe  Navy  Department.1' 


336  NAVAL  HEROES. 

quiry,  courts  martial,  and  in  council  with  the  officers  of  the 
Navy  Department  and  of  the  navy.  In  the  multifarious 
duties  of  the  Senior  Officer  of  the  American  Navy,  he  con- 
stantly called  forth  from  the  capacious  storehouse  of  expe- 
rience, the  maxims  of  matured  judgment,  sound  science, 
and  practical  knowledge. 

But  it  was  as  Commandant  of  the  Navy  Yard,  that  the 
mild  rays  of  his  setting  sun  shone  with  a  splendour,  surpas- 
sed only  by  its  meridian  glory.  He  lived  to  enjoy  the 
most  satisfactory  reward  of  an  exalted  mind — "  The  ap- 
probation of  his  country"  at  the  closing  scenes  of  his  life. 

To  a  mere  sordid  heart,  a  Vote  of  Thanks,  without  a 
golden  reward  as  an  accompaniment,  is  looked  upon  as 
nothing  superiour  to  a  "  sounding  brass  and  a  tinkling  cym- 
bal." It  was  not  so  considered  by  the  veteran  Murray, 
when  he  received  such  a  vote,  but  a  few  months  before  he 
closed  his  temporal  career,  couched  in  terms  of  unqualified 
approbation. 

Although  less  expressive,  yet  no  less  flattering  were  the 
numerous  letters,  of  the  most  distinguished  officers  of  the 
Republic,  received  from  time  to  time  by  the  Commodore 
in  his  declining  years. 

Such  cheering  notes  of  commendation,  emanating  from 
those  whose  high  deserts  impart  an  inestimable  value  to 
praise,  must  have  produced  an  exhilaration,  in  a  heart 
which  had  beat  near  three  score  years  and  ten,  and  must 
have  made  it  re-beat  the  animated  throbs  of  meridian  life. 

In  a  recent  communication  from  the  very  obliging  Sec- 
retary of  the  Navy,  in  answer  to  one  soliciting  information 
from  him  on  various  subjects  connected  with  this  publica- 
tion, he  says — 

"  The  vote  of  thanks  to  the  late  Com.  Murray,  to  which 


v  OM.  ALEXANDER   Ml  RB  \Y. 

dfade  did  not  emanate  fr  >m  this  I  U  partment ;  though 
hi>  character  as  an  officer  and  gentleman,  was  held  in  the 
highest  ( stimation  ;  and  1  ii ^  uniform  discretion,  fidelity  and 
zeal  for  the  public  service,  were  always  duly  appreciated 
by  the  government," 

-•  Fbrlunatu,  s  ,"  maj  we  well  say  of  mis  departed 
patriot  and  hero  ;  fortunate,  almost  beyond  conception. 
when  his  declining  years  are  contrasted  with  many  of  hi- 
eompatriots  in  the  war  of  Independence. 

Says  Gen.  Washington,  in  his  last  letter  to  Gen.  Putnam 
— "  Ingratitude  has  been  experienced  in  all  ages,  and  Re- 
publics, in  particular,  have  ever  been  famed  for  the  ex- 
ercise of  that  unnatural  and  sordid  vice." 

What  a  catalogue  of  names  which  might  be  ranked  with 
the  best  Grecians  in  the  best  days  of  ancient  renowned, 
and  modern  struggling  Greece,  whose  declining  years  were 
embittered  by  the  relentless  grasp  of  indigence  ;  and  with 
whom  the  meagre  genius  of  poverty  "  Froze  the  genial 
current  of  the  soul  ;"  and  of  whom  might  well  be  asked 
the  torturing  question  put  by  the  anonymous  insurgent  to 
the  matchless  officers  of  the  Revolutionary  army  before 
they  were  disbanded  : 

"Can  you  consent  to  be  the  only  sufferers  of  this  revo- 
lution, and,  retiring  from  the  field,  grow  old  in  poverty  and 
wretchedness,  and  contempt  ?  Can  you  consent  to  wade 
through  the  vile  mire  of  dependancy,  and  owe  the  misera- 
ble remnant  of  that  life  to  charity  which  has  hitherto 
been  spent  in  honour  ?"* 

Maj.  Gen.  Arthur  St.  Clair  was  not  the  only  Hero  of  the 
Revolution  who  lived  to  witness  the  fulfilment  of  the  muti 
nous  prophecy. 

See  Revolutionary  PamphleU 


338  NAVAL  HEROES. 

Admitting  the  Pension  Law  has  recently,  in  a  small  de- 
gree, wiped  off  the  stain  of  "  avarice,  that  unnatural  and 
sordid  vice,"  the  very  terms  upon  which  the  small  boon  is 
obtained,  are  excessively  humiliating  to  the  high-minded 
soldier. 

With  a  just  claim  upon  the  government  for  a  right,  they 
are  compelled  in  "  forma  paupe?is'>'>  to  call  God  to  witness 
that  they  are  in  the  depths  of  bankruptcy,  before  they  can 
obtain  now  what  was  the  most  meritorious  due  forty  years 
ago. 

Whether  Com.  Murray  inherited  a  fortune  from  his  sci- 
entific father,  is  unknown  to  the  writer.  But  it  is  known, 
that  from  his  exalted  grandfather,  the  Chief  of  Elginshire, 
his  descendants  inherited  nothing  but  his  fame — a  most  in- 
valuable legacy.  His  estates  were  confiscated  for  his  fidel- 
ity to  the  House  of  Stuart,  by  the  rapacious  Guelphs,  to 
erect  gibbets  for  the  ancient  heroes  of  Scotland,  the  des- 
cendants of  Wallace  and  Bruce. 

Com.  Murray  had  a  fortune  sufficiently  independent  to 
save  him  from  dependance  upon  the  treasures  of  the  Repub- 
lic. God  knows  they  are  hardly  sufficient  to  satisfy  the 
retainers  of  government,  who,  like  birds  of  prey,  harpies, 
and  devouring  locusts,  are  perpetually  preying  upon  a  fund 
which  is  constantly  diminishing,  and  augmenting  the  civil 
list  of  the  Republic  faster  than  did  ever  the  same  list  in- 
crease in  the  profligate  government  of  Britain.* 

*  Lest  this  "  bold  assertion"  should  be  deemed  presumptuous,  I  will 
just  state,  that  in  1790  the  civil  list  was  g  141, 492  72.  In  1821,  more 
than  gl, 500,000.  In  1790,  the  Departments  of  State,  the  Treasury, 
the  Navy,  and  the  Department  of  War,  cost  the  Republic  $16,750. 
In  1821,  the  expenditures  of  the  same  Departments  were  $51,500. 

Mark  now.  how  a  plain  tale  shall  put  you  down." 


COM.  ALEXANDER   Ml  RR  \\. 

While  such  sterling  men  as  Mexander  Murraj  wen  ei 
riching  the  nation  l»v  economy  and  retren<  bment,  thousand! 
of  officers,  little  better  than  sinecures,  who  would  no  -«><>n 
erthan  tin-  grave  exclaim  ••  it  ia enough,91  were  draining  th< 
treasury  <>l'ii>  irerj  dregs  ;  and  wresting  from  the  "  mouth 
of  labour"  its  merited  reward. 

The  command,  "  'Thou  shall  not  muzzle  the  mouth  ol 
the  ov  that  treadeth  out  the  corn,'5  seemed  to  be  revoked, 
that  drones  might  wallow  in  insolent  wealth,  and  luxuriate 
in  effeminate  indulgence. 

The  perpetual   succession  of  these   hungry  swarms  of 
■hunters,  would  remind  one  of  Esop's  fable  of  the  fox 
and  the  llies,  and  of  Tope's  ideas  of  resuscitation. 

"  All  forms  that  perish,  other  forms  supply, 
By  turns  they  catch  the  vital  breath  and  die, 
Like  bubbles  on  the  sea  of  matter  borne, 
They  rise,  they  break — and  to  that  sea  return.7' 

Com.  Murray,  in  the  full  possession  of  his  mental  and 
material  faculties — in  the  active  and  vigilant  discharge  of 
his  high  trust  upon  earth,  was  summoned  to  his  final  audit 
in  heaven,  upon  the  Gth  day  of  October  1821. 

Like  a  ';  shock  of  corn  fully  ripe  in  its  season,"  lie  ap- 
peared before  the  Great  Commander  and  Supreme  Ar- 
chitect of  the  Universe  to  render  an  account  of  his  ser- 
vices in  that  world,  where  man  was  destined  to  discharge 
his  duty  to  man,  and  to  prepare  to  meet  a  GOD  in  heaven. 

His  life  evinced  that  ib  man  was  created  little  lower  than 
the  angels" — his  death  impressively  taught,  that  "  all  flesh 
js  as  grass." 

As  his  life  filled  a  capacious  space,  his  death  occasioned 
a  vacancy,  which  may  be  tilled,  but  cannot  be  filled  better. 

The  deepened  marks  of  sorrow  that  were  depicted  upon 


540  NAVAL  HEROES. 

the  countenances  of  the  great  and  good  men  who  viewed 
his  sheeted  manes,  were  a  speechless  eulogy  from  fixed 
eyes,  and  dumb  mouths  ;  far  more  impressive  than  the 
sonorous  exclamations  of  funereal  eloquence. 

It  would  be  useless  to  insert  the  order  of  the  funeral 
procession  at  his  interment.  As  he  lived  without  ostenta- 
tion, he  would,  (could  he  have  wished)  have  desired  to  be 
carried  to  his  cemetery  without  imposing  ceremony. 

CHARACTER  OF  ALEXANDER  MURRAY. 

Alexander  Murray  possessed  the  qualities  of  a  vigor- 
ous, decided  and  energetic  mind.  He  seemed  to  be  design- 
ed by  Heaven  as  a  blessing  to  his  country. 

Born  at  an  era  pregnant  with  the  most  important  events 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  his  life  embraced  near  one  half 
of  it.  It  also  embraced  near  one  quarter  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  a  period  still  more  astonishing* 

Although  he  did  not  move  in  the  highest  sphere,  he  was 
ever  in  the  midst  of  the  ardent  beings  who  approximated 
it.  If  he  did  not  design  vast  operations,  he  was  amongst 
the  first  active  agents  who  insured  their  execution. 

He  was  born  with  an  innate  detestation  of  tyranny,  and 
his  arm  was  constantly  nerved  and  raised  against  oppres- 
sors. He  inherited  from  his  progenitors,  a  high  sense  of 
Independence,  and  an  invincible  hostility  against  the  an- 
cient enemy  of  the  land  of  his  ancestors  in  Europe,  and 
the  inveterate  foes  of  that  of  his  own  birth  in  America. 
Hence  when  the  potent  arm  of  imperious  Britain  was  lift- 
ed in  wrath  against  her  high-minded  children  in  the  New 
World,  Murray,  then  in  ardent  youth,  manfully  espoused 
the  cause  of  Freemen  against  tyrants-. 


I  OM.  ALEXANDER  Ml  RR  *Y. 

He  commenced  his  career  ofglor)  in  tl 
ingtofy  and  followed  the  destiny  oi  Ibe  Father  oft!  i 
lie,  through  the  most  desponding  period  of  the  Revolution. 

Without  any  respite,  he  repaired  to  his  favourite  ele- 
ment, to  face  in  arms  the  vaunting  "  Queen  of  the  Ocean.'' 
In  numerous  battles,  and  with  various  success,  !. 
rated  with  the  peerless  "  Naval  Heroes  of  the  American 
Revolution;"  and  desperate  wounds  received  in  furious 
contests  furnished  demonstrative  evidence  that  he  v. 
the  post  of  duty  and  of  danger. 

When  Peace,  crowned  with  Independence  and  glory, 
blessed  the  new-born,  and  first-born  Republic,  in  the  West- 
ern Hemisphere,  the  war-worn  Murray  became  the  unas- 
suming citizen. 

His  native  energy  and  decision  of  character,  was  exem- 
plified in  the  mild  arts  of  peace,  as  signally  as  was  his  cour- 
age in  the  midst  of  war,  carnage,  bloodshed  and  death. 

When  the  house  of  Bourbon  fell,  and  the  French  Repub- 
lic rose  upon  its  ruins,  like  a  Phoenix  from  embers — when, 
in  her  ravishing  strides,  she  laid  her  rapacious  hands  upon 
American  Commerce,  Murray,  with  the  high  approbation 
of  Washington  and  Adams,  repaired  again  to  the  floating 
bulwarks  of  his  country,  and  with  the  unrivalled  ocean 
combatants  in  ocean  warfare,  afforded  protection  to  Amer- 
icans, and  spread  dismay  amongst  lawless  French  marau- 
ders. 

The  objects  of  his  government  effected,  and  the  naval 
ardor  of  his  countrymen  revived,  the  Post-Captain  Murray 
again  retired  to  the  bosom  of  his  admiring  friends  and  ap- 
plauding countrymen. 

He  was  retained  in  the  naval  service  of  the  Republic,  and 

was  one  of  the  thirteen  original  Captains  in  the  American 

45 


342  NAVAL  HEROES. 

Navy  designed  to  keep  alive  the  naval  flame,  and  to  avenge 
the  injuries  sustained  by  Americans  upon  every  ocean  and 
in  every  sea. 

When  the  detested  disciples  of  the  arch  impostor  Ma- 
homet, raised  the  blood-stained  Crescent  over  the  Star- 
spangled  Banner  of  America — robbed  her  commerce,  and 
enslaved  her  citizens,  the  sagacious  and  profound  Jepfer- 
son  selected  the  cool,  experienced,  and  veteran  Murray 
as  the  Commander  in  Chief  of  a  little  American  squadron 
in  the  renowned  Mediterranean. 

His  character  scarcely  began  to  develope  itself,  as  a 
Commander  in  Chief,  before  he  was  required  to  yield  his 
command  to  a  successor.  In  this  capacity,  he  shewed  that 
he  possessed  the  courage  of  the  champion,  but  he  was  per- 
mitted only  to  menace  his  foe  at  a  distance,  and  defend 
himself  when  assailed. 

For  the  third  time,  he  retired  from  the  warring  ocean  as 
a  distinguished  ocean  warrior.  In  three  different  wars, 
with  three  different  powers,  he  had  fought  and  fought  val- 
iantly in  thirteen  battles,  and  the  crimsoned  current  that 
copiously  flowed  from  his  mortal  body,  evinced  the  hero- 
ism of  his  immortal  soul. 

When  imperious  Britain,  a  second  time  by  her  unhal- 
lowed aggressions,  caused  the  second  war  between  the 
American  Republic  and  that  haughty  power,  Murray's 
name  stood  at  the  head  of  the  American  Naval  Register? 
and  his  fame,  without  a  blot,  in  the  register  of  American 
glory. 

The  cautious  and  wary  Madison,  then,  and  the  no  less 
penetrating  Monroe,  afterwards,  detained  this  experienced 
veteran  in  the  home  department,  to  digest  and  mature  the 
system  which  has  given  imperishable  glory  to  the  Ameri- 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURRAY. 

can  navy,  and  almost  absolute  perfection  to  American  na 
val  architecture. 

Inline:  this  honoured  Naval  Hero  and  American  Pat- 
riot, went  forth,  from  grade  to  grade,  spending  his  life  and 
exhausting  his  bodily  vigour,  in  the  cause  of  our  beloved 
Republic,  which  lie  loved  better  than  be  loved  himself. 

He  lived  well  known,  highly  honoured,  and  invariably 
respected  by  Washington,  Adams,  Jefferson,  Madison  and 
Monroe,  the  five  renowned  Presidents  of  the  only  pure 
Republic  on  earth  ;  and  of  how  many  departed  worthies 
can  higher  honours  be  told  ? 

But,  with  all  his  justly  merited  honours,  he  shewed  no 
ostentation.  He  was  a  dignified,  genuine,  Republican  : 
who,  although  honoured  by  the  great,  was  courteous  to  the 
*mall  ;  and  "  those  who  knew  him  best,  loved  him  most 

[original.] 

THE  SENIOR  COMMODORE  AND  POST-CAPTAIN  IN 
THE  AMERICAN  NAVY. 

Tune — "  The  sea  was  calm,"  &c\ 

I.  Young  Murray,  brave,  of  noble  mein 

Gave  "  strong  assurance  of  the  man," 
With  Neptune's  sons,  was  often  seen, 
The  ocean's  vast  expanse  to  scan. 

When  eighteen  years  had  mann'd  his  brow, 

A  master  on  the  deck  he  stood, 
Of  merchant's  ship,  with  lofty  bow, 
A  youth  esteem'd  both  great  and  good, 

II.  When  first  Americans  arose, 

Against  the  hostile  British  foe. : 


544  NAVAL  HEROES. 

Did  valiant  Murray,  firm,  espouse 
The  purest  cause  of  Man  below. 

With  young  Monroe.*  placed  in  command 

By  WASHINGTON— both  straight  repair'd 
To  join  the  fearless  patriot  band, 

Who,  (dauntless,)  haughty  Britons  dar'd. 

III.  Next  Murray  on  the  deck  was  view'd, 

There  pouring  Freemen's  thunders  forth  ; 
There  spill'd  his  blood — but  quick  renew'd 
His  vengeance  'gainst  the  fiends  of  wrath. 

From  waves  return'd  with  wounds  and  scars, 

He  found  the  lov'd  Republic  Free  ; 
He  stood  'mongst  men,  like  son  of  Mars, 
And  Neptune's  fav'rite  from  the  sea. 

IV.  ^iext,  dauntless  Murray  wafted  off, 

To  meet  the  boasting  Frenchmen's  frown  ; 
He  gave  broadsides,  for  Gallic  scoff, 
And  gain'd  Columbia's  tars  renown. 
Once  more  return'd,  he  saw,  with  joy, 

His  country  rising  high  in  Fame  ; 
He  found  his  name,  by  high  employ, 
Inscrib'd  upon  the  rolls  of  Fame. 

V.  Again,  in  high  and  chief  command, 

Murray,  the  Commodore,  repair'd 
To  that  fam'd  sea  "  midst  famed  land" 
Where  Greece  and  Rome  in  glory  shar'd. 
'Twas  there  the  Crescent,  quiv'ring,  fled, 
When  his  proud  banner  waved  high 

*  Lieut.  Monroe,  (the  President)  fought  with  Lieut.  Murray  in  the 
sanguinary  battle  at  White  Plains,  before  he  took  command  at  sea. 


COM.  ALEX  \M)i:i;    Ml  RR  \\. 

On  that  proud  Ship/  v.  hi<  I)  «  loth'd  in  dread 
Made  Frenchmen — Britons,  frightened,  iJ  v . 

VI.  Once  more  tin-  u Conq'ring  Hero"  cam( 

Murray,  with  deathless  honours  crown'd  ; 
Was  weh  oro'd  home,  with  loud  acclaim, 
A  "  Naval  Hero'1 — high  renown'd. 
There,  by  the  great  and  Lr<><><l  rever'd, 

He  liv'd  admir'd,  and  died  in  Fame; 
A  monument's  already  rear'd, 

In  Patriots'  hearts  to  Murray's  name. 


While  the  preceding  sketch  was  in  preparation  for  the 
press,  the  disastrous  intelligence  was  announced,  that  a  fa- 
vourite son  of  commodore  Murray  fell  a  victim  to  the  mal- 
ady which  proved  fatal  to  so  many  gallant  spirits  on  board 
the  well  known  Macedonian  Frigate. 

She  was  well  known  to  the  gallant  Carden.  as  a  British 
ship,  in  which  he  lost  more  than  eighty  of  a  gallant  crew 
when  the  matchless  Decatur  captured  her.  She  was  well 
known  to  the  chivalrous  hero,  Jones,  when  he  challenged 
the  Statira,  and  when  commanding  her  in  the  renowned 
squadron  of  Decatur  in  the  Mediterranean,  in  1815.  She 
was  well  known,  alas  !  too  well  known,  by  the  heroic,  the 
accomplished  Biddle,  the  younger,  in  the  cruise  which  was 
terminated  in  1822  ;  and  which  terminated  the  lives  of  so 
many  promising  American  officers  and  seamen. 

Alexander  M.  Murray  was  the  son  of  the  late  Com. 
Alexander  Murray.     His  excellent  father  educated   him 

*  The  Constellation  frigate  ;  in  which  Truxton  captured  the  Le 
Insurgente,  French  frigate,  aDd  in  which  then  C'apt.  Alexander  Mur- 
ray beatoflfby  mistake,  the  Magnanimique,  British  line  of  battle  ship 
in  the  naval  warfare  with  the  French  Republic. 


346  NAVAL  HEROES. 

with  the  view  of  making  him  an  accomplished  young  offi- 
cer in  the  navy,  of  which  he  might  himself  be  called  a  ven- 
erable father. 

His  studies  were  principally  directed  to  this  primary  ob- 
ject, although  he  became  an  early  proficient  in  the  liberal 
sciences. 

It  would  be  superfluous  to  descant  upon  the  inestimable 
value  of  early  literary  and  scientific  attainments  to  gentle- 
men of  the  Navy,  from  the  lowest  grade  to  the  highest. 

Their  duty  often  leads  them  to  oral  discussions,  and 
written  correspondence — to  make  official  communications 
to  their  own  government,  and  sometimes  to  the  enemies  of 
the  Republic* 

*  The  following  very  recent  specimen  of  a  communication  from  the 
American  "  Senior  Naval  Officer  of  the  U.  States,  in  the  West  In- 
dies" once  one  of  Com.  Murray's  midshipmen,  shows  that  Capt.  R< 
Treat  Spence,  although  a  warrior,  can  maintain  the  dignity  of  the 
Republic  by  his  pen,  as  well  as  sustain  its  rights  by  his  cannon.  The 
"  decree  of  Francis  Thomas  Morales,"  the  gasconading  representative 
of  the  puerile,  weak,  and  vascillating  Ferdinand  VII.  is  known  to 
the  reader.  Captain  Spence's  note  to  the  "  general  in  chief"  does 
honor  to  him  and  his  government. 

"  Curacoa,  10th  November,  1822. 
From  the  commander  of  the  U.  S.  ship  Cyane,  and  Senior  Naval  Offi- 
cer in  the  West  Indies,   to  his  excellency  Francis  Thomas  Mo- 
Rales,  General  in  Chief  of  the  Spanish  Royal  Forces  on  the  Main. 
Sir — I  have  been  presented  with  your  Excellency's  public  de- 
cree of  the  15th  of  September  last — a  declaration  of  the  most  despotic 
and  sanguinary  nature,  against  all  foreigners,  whose  love  of  glory, 
commercial  pursuits  and  lawful  occupations,  may  enlist  in  the  service, 
or  detain  them  in  the  territories  possessed  by  the  enemies  of  Spain, 
recognized  by  the  U  States  as  independent  governments. 

A  manifesto  so  extraordinary,  so  hostile  to  the  rights  of  nations,  so 
disparaging  and  prejudicial  to  the  character  of  the  era  in  which  we 
live,  cannot  fail  to  excite  astonishment,  and  to  attract  the  attention  of 


( !0M.  ALEXANDER   Ml  RRA1 . 

in  the  high  honour  and  reputation  of  American  N 
officers,  their  official  accounts  of  enj  ,  ■  ments,  and  othe 

.ill  who  wish  (o  'preserve  civilization  from  the  encroachment!  of  bar 
barism,  or  have  rights  to  protect  from  military  misrule  and  in\  asion. 

As  commander  in  chief  of  the  royal  forces  ineffectually  employed  in 
\  enezuela,  you  are  accountable  to  your  king  onlj  for  your  pro 
ings  against  his  subjects.  Bui  for  acts  of  rapacity,  cjueltj  and  oj 
pression,  exercised  against  foreigners  -for  their  illegal  imprisonmenl 
-  for  their  seizure  and  confiscation  of  their  property— for  tluir  degra- 
dation under  the  aforesaid  proclamation,  you  are  answerable  to  th< 
world,  because  by  such  acts  of  hostility  you  wage  an  indiscriminate 
war  against  all  governments,  and  by  trampling  on  the  sacred  rights  o* 
men,  place  at  defiance  nations,  who  hold  the  laws  and  Immune  usage- 
of  civilized  society  as  rules  of  action. 

War,  under  the  mildest  aspect,  is  a  calamity  to  be  deplored;  bul 
when  to  its  inseparable  horrors  are  superadded  cruelties  perpetrated 
without  necessity,  and  men  pursuing  peaceable  avocations  are  inclu 
ded  in  the  most  sanguinary  proscriptions,  without  reference  or  re 
spect  to  the  nation  which  owes  them  protection,  it  becomes  a  demoni- 
ac scourge,  a  hydra  curse,  which  policy  and  humanity  are  equally  in 
terested  in  arresting. 

Against  such  a  course  of  violence  as  you  have  proclaimed  to  the 
world,  in  behalf  of  my  countrymen  I  protest,  and  do  hereby  premonish 
your  excellency  not  to  enforce  the  penalty,  punishment  and  ignominy, 
threatened  in  your  manifesto  against  the  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
who  are  at  present,  or  may  hereafter  be  found  by  your  excellency,  in 
the  independent  territories  to  which  you  refer,  prosecuting  their 
commercial  concerns  under  the  guarantee  of  laws  and  usages,  which 
no  Christian  soldier,  fighting  either  for  glory,  his  monarch,  or  his 
country,  can  violate  with  impunity.  The  soldier,  whose  sword  is 
stained  with  the  blood  of  unoffending  men,  superfluously  shed,  wins 
not  the  wreath  of  the  warrior,  but  the  reputati  >n  of  the  recreant. 

The  blockade  declared  by  Gen.  Mori  11  o,  Lo  which  your  excellency 
alludes,  exists  not,  neither  has  it,  at  any  anterior  period  been  enforc- 
ed in  conformity  to  rules  prescribed  by  the  accepted  decisions  of  the 
highest  authorities  rendered  valid  by  time  and  acquiscence.  It  there- 
fore has  hitherto  been  a  pretext  for  the  interception  of  our  lawful 
trade — for  the  seizure  and  deteutiou  of  our  property,  for  the  abuse  and 


348  NAVAL  HEROES. 

events  in  the  Second  Waf  with  Britain,  acquired  for  them 
unqualified  approbation  from  the  enemy,  and  undissembled 
admiration  from  Americans. 

maltreatment  of  our  mariners— for  purposes  of  plunder  and  outrage-— 
all  of  which  evils  it  has  produced. 

For  spoliations  committed  on  the  commerce  of  the  United  States, 
under  the  sanction  of  that  paper  interdiction,  restitution  will  be  re- 
quired—and  to  the  dignity  which  characterizes  the  govenment  of  the 
republic  is  Spain  indebted  for  that  magnanimous  forbearance  from 
reprisal,  justifiable  on  every  principle  of  self  preservation  and  defence- 

The  citizens  of  the  United  States,  from  the  peaceful  and  neutral 
course  prescribed  by  their  government,  are  justly  entitled  to  the  re- 
spect of  the  belligerent  parties,  and  if  their  enterprize  induces  them  to 
reap  the  advantages  of  a  lawful  trade  within  territories  alternately  in 
the  occupancy  of  either,  they  are  there  as  citizens  of  a  truly  neutral 
power— a  power  that  has  at  no  time  afforded  aid,  or  exercised  influ 
ence  of  any  kind  in  the  present  unhappy  contest. 

Between  the  United  States  and  the  Sovereign  of  Spain  there  exists 
a  treaty  recently  made,  and  consecrated  by  the  most  formal  observ- 
ances, the  acknowledged  basis  of  which  is  good  will,  and  a  cordial 
spirit  of  conciliation.  How  then,  in  the  face  of  this  pledge  and  con' 
cord,  do  you  sir,  undertake  to  threaten  with  forfeitures  and  ignomini- 
ous penalties— with  slavery  and  death — the  citizens  of  a  Republic  who 
have  a  right  to  expect,  under  this  token  of  friendship,  safety  and  ex- 
emption from  molestation. 

Wrongs  and  injuries  that  may  accrue  to  citizens  of  the  Union  from 
your  unlawful  decrees,  whether  visited  on  their  persons  or  property, 
will  be  numbered  with  the  catalogue  of  outrages  already  sustained, 
and  for  which  Spain  must  be  answerable.  Against  all  such  wrongs 
and  injuries  I  protest,  and  do  hereby  solemnly  call  upon  your  Excel- 
lency to  abstain  from  the  adoption  of  measures  fraught  with  most  evil 
consequences— measures  coercing  a  spirit  of  retaliation  and  reaction, 
the  end  and  issue  of  which  may  be  conceived,  foreseen  and  prevented 
by  your  Excellency.  And  I  invite  your  Excellency,  as  a  lover  of  the 
character  and  honor  of  Spain,  of  the  amity  and  good  faith  so  happily 
preserved  between  her  and  the  Republic,  to  annul  all  such  restrictions 
as  lead  to  a  violation  of  the  laws  of  nations— as  infringe  the  just  rights 
of  citizens  of  the  United  States— as  deprives  them  of  the  benefits  of 


COM.  ALEXANDER   MURRAY. 

I'll*  ii'  ii.  -|w  ini\  in  d\  scribing,  ivaa  equal  to  their 

cool  courage  in  achieving  victories.  Thej  evince,  thai 
ouv  naval  heroes  can  wield  the  pens  of  scholars,  is  well  as 
the  swords  of  champions. 

The  rapt'. II \  increasing  reputation  of  young  midshipman 
A.  M.   Murray,  was  amongst  the  most  cheering  hop 
his  venerable  father  in  his  declining  years. 

II*  looked  upon  his  son  Alexander,  as  the  great  friend 
of  America,  Edmund  Burke,  once  looked  upon  his  admired 
son  Richard  ;  but,  like  Burke,  he  did  not  live  to  witness 
the  death  of  a  son,  who  the  former  hoped,  would  transmit 
his  name  to  posterity 

Had  young  Murray  died  upon  the  deck  of  the  Macedo- 
nian, as  the  lamented  Allen  lately  fell,  in  chastising  unhal- 
lowed pirates,  in  the  region  where  the  beloved  midship- 
man languished,  and  died  of  a  raging  fever,  it  would  have 
been  no  greater  less  to  the  Repubjic  ;  but,  such  is  the  ca- 
price of  men,  it  might  have  been  a  theme  of  more  glory  to 
the  memory  of  the  accomplished  young  Murray. 

The  following  very  recent  extemporaneous  effusion  of 
Com.  Porter,  who  was  a  warm  friend  of  the  late  venerable 
Com.  Murray — a  patron  of  his  lamented  son,  and  who  is 
the  designed  avenger  of  Lieut.  Allen's  murder,  by  Pirates, 
shows  that  he  has  a  mind  to  express  his  indignation  against 
the  infernal  enemies  of  man  ;  and  that  his  arm  is  raised  to 
avenge  their  audacious  and  sanguinary  murders. 

"  The  cause  we  are  engaged  in  is  the  most  just  and  right- 
peace,  tend  to  augment  to  an  alarming  amount  the  account  which 
hereafter  must  inevitably  be  balanced  between  the  two  nations. 
1  have  the  honor  to  be,  &c. 

ROBERT  TREAT  SPENCE 
Senior  Naval  officer  of  tbe  U.  States  in  the  West  Indie*., , 
46 


350  NAVAL  HEROES. 

eous,  as  we  war  against  the  enemies  of  mankind — monsters 
who  disgrace  human  nature — we  carry  with  us  the  best 
wishes,  not  only  of  our  own  country,  but  of  the  civilized 
world.  And  it  is  only  necessary  to  pronounce  one  name 
to  awaken  our  resentments,  and  inspire  us  with  vengeance 
— a  name  distinguished  in  the  annals  of  our  country — a 
name  synonymous  with  patriotism,  courage  and  self  devo- 
tion— The  name  of  Allen. 

"  Let  then,  "  Remember  Allen,"  be  our  watchword.  If 
it  is  honorable  in  our  country  to  be  the  first  to  take  mea- 
sures to  exterminate  those  enemies  of  the  human  race,  it 
is  no  less  so  in  us  to  be  the  instruments  of  its  will — A  mar- 
tyr was  necessary  to  rouse  its  sleeping  energies.  The  blood 
of  Allen  has  sealed  the  pirates'  doom — and  humanity  will 
shudder  less  at  their  punishment  than  at  their  crimes. 
Justice,  demands  it — and  the  world  will  approve  it." 

Amongst  the  first  acts  of  Com.  Porter,  after  conducting 
his  squadron  to  the  West  Indies,  was  the  following  impres- 
sive general  order,  to  demonstrate  the  grief  felt  at  the  out- 
rageous murder  of  Lieut.  Cooke.  It  shows  that  in  the  depth 
of  sorrow  he  can, 

"  Think  as  a  sage,  and  feel  like  a  man." 
GENERAL  ORDER. 

The  afflicting  intelligence  which  has  this  day  been  re- 
ceived, relative  to  the  death  of  that  most  excellent  officer 
and  man  Lieut.  William  H.  Cooke,  by  a  shot  fired  from 
the  castle  at  St.  Johns,  has  filled  us  with  the  most  lively 
sorrow  and  regret.  Had  he  fallen  in  battle — had  he  died 
by  the  hands  of  declared  enemies,  our  sorrow  would  be 
assuaged  by  the  knowledge  of  his  having  died  in  the  de- 
fence of  the  rights  of  his  country,  and  while  doing  his  duty 
as  au  officer.     But  to  be  thus  cruelly  torn  from  his  family. 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURR  U 

..     friends,  and  from  his  country,   l>\  the  conduct  of  a  das 
tard,  (whose  aim  was  rendered  more  sure  bj  his  perfect 
safety,  and  b)  the  helpless  condition  of  t  lie*   vessel  of  our 
lamented  friend,)  is  heart-rending  in  the  extr< 

But  while  we  deprecate  the  act  of  the  individual  who 
committed  it,  we  must  not  involve  in  it  the  conduct  of  the 
whole  people.  The  Captain  General  of  the  Island  has 
given  the  mo>t  unequivocal  proofs  of  the  most  sincere  re- 
gret that  the  event  has  taken  place;  Every  thing  has  been 
done  by  him  that  I  could  reasonably  expect  of  him  to  do  at 
present,  to  satisfy  me  of  lus  friendly  disposition  towards  us, 
and  as  no  act  of  ours  can  recall  to  life  the  estimable  man 
who  has  been  taken  from  us,  we  must  leave  what  remains 
yet  to  be  done  to  our  country,  whose  demands  will  no  doubt 
be  prompt  and  effectual.  All  that  remains  for  us  to  do  is 
to  grieve  ;  and  as  a  slight  token  of  what  we  feel,  it  is  pro- 
posed to  wear  crape  on  our  left  arms,  and  on  our  swordi 
for  one  month. 

Signed  D.  PORTER. 

U.  S.  ship  Peacock, 

March  10,  1823. 
A  true  copy  from  the  General  Order  Book 

J.  M.  MAURA, 
Captain  to  Squadron. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  Letter  of  Com. 
Porter,  to  the  Governor  of  the  island  of  Porto  Rico,  in  re- 
gard to  the  murder  of  Lieut.  Cooke.  It  contains  u  thoughts 
that  breathe  and  words  that  burn." 

"  Your  excellency  in  conversation  with  the  officer  you 
wish  to  implicate,  adverted  to  the  affair  of  the  Panchita  as 
one  of  palliation  for  the  offence,  and  there  is  too  much 
reason  to  apprehend  that  the  officer  who  gave  the  order  to 


352  NAVAL  HEROES. 

prevent  the  entrance  of  my  squadron,  as  well  as  those  who 
executed  it,  thought  this  a  fair  opportunity  to  retaliate. 
Otherwise  why  heat  shot  in  the  furnaces  to  destroy  my 
squadron  ?  Why  open  two  hatteries  on  the  schooner,  and 
why  fire  round  shot  and  langrage,  while  the  lamented  vic- 
tim was  hailing  the  fort,  and  why  the  remark  of  the  man 
who  pointed  the  gun,  that,  the  shot  was  intended  to  avenge 
the  Panchita  ? 

"  Your  excellency  will  recollect  that  in  the  case  of  the 
Panchita,  there  was  an  equality  of  force.  Such  an  occur- 
rence would  not  have  taken  place  had  there  been  as  great  a 
disparity  as  in  the  present  instance.  The  cases  are  not 
therefore  parallel,  and  if  the  satisfaction  of  retaliation  was 
sought  for,  the  offenders  have  failed  in  their  object ;  it  is 
yet  to  be  obtained. 

"  I  shall  leave  the  Island  to-morrow  morning  with  a 
heavy  heart,  and  shall  without  delay  communicate  to  my 
government  the  melancholy  result  of  my  visit  here,  which 
was  intended  for  the  benefit  of  the  civilized  world  in  gene- 
ral." 

Within  eighteen  years,  the  patriotic  and  ancient  city  of 
Philadelphia,  has  been  called  to  deplore  the  loss  of  six 
brilliant  ornaments  of  the  ancient  and  modern  navy  of  the 
Republic — Truxton,  Murray  the  elder,  Decatur  the 
elder,  his  two  noble  sons,  ("  the  property  of  our  country") 
Stephen  Decatur,  and  James  B.  Decatur,  and  Alexan- 
der M.  Murray. 

Amidst  the  tears  of  grief  for  this  "  wide  waste  of  great- 
ness," the  6miles  of  joy  may  be  seen  that  this  city  still 
claims,  as  living  citizens,  Bainbridge  and  Biddle,  and  ma- 
ny other  juniors  of  these  exalted  heroes ;  the  two  first  of 
whom,  if  possible,  may  add  to  their  already  gathered  lau  ■ 


(  OM.  ALEXANDER  MURB  \Y. 

and  tin-  others,  yet  unknown  to  fame, 

ll<  .1  in  it-  temple* 
>m  an  obituary  notic<  .  i    taken  the  following 
imium  upon  the  deceased  father  and  son.     Sp<  aki 
complished,  deceased,  and  lamented  midshipman,  it 
!  --••  He  was  a  son  of* the  late  Com.  Alexander  Mui 
ind,  from  the  high  opinions  entertained  <»i  | 
merit  b)  his  commanding  officers  ;  by  bi-  enterprising 
position,  his  gallant  and  generous  feelings,   ami  above  all, 
by  his  humane  ami  affectionate  heart,  he  gave  fairproi 
to  prove  to  his  country  and  kindred  a  worthy  repre  < 
tive  of  that  venerable  and  highly  valued  officer." 

The  author  of  the  following  pathetic  and   solemn   etiii 
sion,  occasioned   by  the  death  of  midshipman  A.  M.  Mui 
ray,  will  excuse  the  writer  for  adding  it  to  the  Sketch  ofhh 
exalted  lather's  eventful  life. 

No,  he  will  not  return — in  a  distant  land. 

Far  from  home  and  from  kindred  they  laid  him  ; 
And  lonely  and  sad  was  the  hour,  when  the  hand 

Of  his  messmate,  the  last  duties  paid  him. 
The  wild  burst  of  grief  it  is  over,  and  now 

Fancy  flies  where  the  white  surf  is  roaring  ; 
And  then,  on  the  shore,  'neath  the  orange  tree,  bough 

Or,  where  the  broad  bananas  are  waving, 
They  picture  the  spot  where  the  brother  and 

Has  entered  his  last  narrow  dwelling, 
His  course  it  was  finished  ;  his  race  it  was  run  : 

And  sighs,  murmuring  sighs,  they  are  swelb. 
For  he  will  not  return — and  in  this  vale  of  woe, 

Why!  why!  should'st  thou  e'er  wish  to  greet  hii 
No,  haste  on  thy  journey — to  Him  thou  shalt  go. 
And  where  joy  reigns  forever  shall  meet  him. 


;354  NAVAL  HEROES. 

But  he  will  not  return  !  CansH  thou  wish  his  return 
To  this  region  of  darkness  and  sorrow  ? 

No  !  haste  on  thy  journey  ;  thou  shalt  pass  from   this 
bourne 
And  rise  on  that  glorious  morrow, 

Where  friends  meet  him  again — never,  never  to  part  ; 
"Where  hope  is  all  lost  in  enjoyment; 

And  to  praise  the  Redeemer,  of  each  grateful  heart 
Is  the  soul's  everlasting  employment. 

While  Americans  may  justly  feel  proud  of  their  naval 
glory,  from  the  revolution  to  near  the  close  of  the  first 
quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century — while  as  freemen 
they  exult  in  our  unsurpassed  achievements,  and  as  moral- 
ists rejoice  that  our  navy  has  never  been  stained  by  un- 
hallowed aggressions  against  feeble  powers,  but  has  saved 
Christians  of  many  different  nations  from  the  accumulated 
horrors  and  hopeless  misery  of  Turkish  bondage,  as  well 
as  the  citizens  of  the  American  Republic  from  the  same 
state  of  suffering,  gloom,  and  despair — while  with  proud 
satisfaction  we  can  reflect  that  no  public  ship  of  the  king- 
doms of  Britain,  France,  or  Spain,  dare  point  a  hostile  gun 
against  American  commerce  or  American  citizens — while 
with  mingled  sentiments  of  approbation  and  indignation  we 
behold  our  dignified  government  assuming  a  vindictive  at- 
titude against  the  buccaniers  and  pirates  of  the  islands  of 
America — in  the  very  depths  of  sorrow  are  we  compelled 
to  utter  forth  the  moans  of  anguish  that  the  fearless  "  Naval 
Heroes  of  the  Revolution"  have  almost  all  "gone  to  their 
long  home,  and  the  mourners  go  about  the  streets" — and 
that  during  the  year  just  closed,  (182-2)  full  one  eighth  of 
the  gallant,  accomplished,  patriotic,  and  matchless  officers 
of  the  present  navy  of  the  Republic,  by  death  or  retire- 


COM.  ALEXANDER  MURR  \V. 

men!  have  been  Bnatched  from  the  service,  and  arc  ten- 
ants <>f  the  tomb,  the  mansion,  or  (Ik-  cottage.     Those  high 

minded  men  whose  motto  was 

•   Vlnus  ibunt,  <|iii  ad  summa  oituntur" 
arc  now  either  in  the  congregation  of  the  dead,  or  in  the 
promiscuous  mass  of  the  living. 

But  with  a  Roman  civilian,  let  Americans  exclaim,  ''Nev- 
er despair  of  the  Commonwealth*1 — let  our  surviving  and 
remaining  ollicers  and  seamen  say,  with  the  departed  Law- 
rence, "  Never  give  up  the  ship" — and  let  all,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  a  favourite*  of  Washington, — "  Thank  God  that 
we  have  constantly  witnessed  his  protecting  care  of  our  he- 
loved  country  ;  that  we  have  seen  the  tree  of  Liberty,  the 
emblem  our  Independence  and  Union,  while  it  was  a  re- 
cumbent plant,  fostered  by  vigilance,  defended  by  toil,  and 
not  unfrequently  watered  with  tears — and  that,  by  his  fa- 
vour, we  now  behold  it  in  the  vigour  of  youthful  maturity, 
standing  protected  from  violation,  by  the  sound  heads, 
glowing  hearts  and  strong  arms  of  a  new  generation,  eleva- 
ting its  majestic  trunk  towards  heaven,  striking  its  strong 
roots  in  every  direction  through  our  soil,  and  expanding 
its  luxuriant  branches  over  a  powerful,  united  and  prosper- 
ous nation." 

*  Oliver  Wolcott,  Govemour  of  Connecticut,  (1823)  on<~    - 
rv  of  the  Trcasurv,  and  successor  to  Alexander  Hamilton 


APPENDIX. 

As  James  Monroe  was  the  revolutionary  comrade  of 
Alexander  TV  1 1  rray,  and  his  unvarying  friend  to  the  day 
of  Ins  death,  the  following  hasty  sketch  of  that  great  m  \\ 
is  attempted  with  deep  solicitude,  and  inserted  here  with  a 
diffidence  which  cannot  be  expressed. — 

CHARACTER  AND  OFFICIAL  SERVICES  OF 

JAMES  MONROE, 

A  HERO  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION. 

AND 

FIFTH  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REPUBLIC 

James  Monroe  was  born  upon  the  soil  which  his  ances 
tors  acquired  in  the  early  settlements  of  Virginia.  It  was 
his  beneficent  destiny  to  have  been  born  in  the  midst  of 
great  men  ;  and  to  have  had  the  examples  of  the  great,  con- 
stantly within  his  aspiring  view.  That  human  pre-emin- 
ence, which,  to  human  beings  at  a  distance,  assumes  an  in- 
accessible elevation,  became  familiar  with  him  by  being  in 
contact  with  it,  and  almost  imperceptibly  rising  as  that  as- 
cended.. 

His  was  not  a  sudden  flight  from  humble  mediocrity  to 
unrivalled  eminence — but  a  regular  gradation  from  minor 
stations,  to  the  most  elevated  post  occupied  by  living  man. 

In  youth,  he  passed  through  the  discipline  of  the  schools, 
and  acquired  the  honours  of  an  academician.  No  sooner 
was  he  invested  with  these  distinctions,  than  he  assumed 
those  of  a  character  totally  diverse — the  insignia  of  a  war- 
rior. 

47 


358  \PPENDIX. 

Asa  youug  subaltern,  he  first  faced  the  implacable  foe  of' 
the  rising  Republic,  at  the  Heights  of  Haerlem.  At  White 
Plains  he  met  the  same  foe,  clad  in  American  armour. 

At  seventeen,  when  even  hoary-headed  veterans  were 
desponding,  and  hoary-headed,  and  iron-hearted  tories 
were  exulting  over  the  desperate  emergencies  of  the  strug- 
ling  colonies,  the  lieutenant  remained  true  to  Washington. 
to  America  and  to  Independence. 

At  Trenton,  in  the  midst  of  the  warring  elements,  and 
the  warring  danger  between  Freemen  and  vassals,  and  at 
the  moment  of  victory,  he  was  prostrated  by  a  wound,  all 
but  mortal.  He  survived — not  to  shew  his  shattered  limb, 
or  boast  of  a  desperate  wound,  but  to  follow,  to  face  and  to 
fight  the  enemy,  until  they  yielded,  or  until  he  fell. 

As  Aid-de-Camp  to  a  superior  officer,  he  fought  in  the 
sanguinary  battles  of  Brandywine,  Germantown  and  Mon- 
mouth. He  entered  the  army  of  the  Revolution  as  Lieu- 
tenant—he left  it  a  Colonel — and  left  it  with  the  unquali- 
fied approbation  of  his  comrades  and  of  Washington,  the 
Father  of  his  Country. 

With  a  man  who  united  in  himself  the  qualities  of  a  great 
jurist,  a  profound  statesman  and  a  sound  philosopher. 
Thomas  Jefferson,  he  studied  the  science  of  law — the 
science  of  government,  and  the  science  of  human  nature. 
Deeply  versed  in  them  all,  he  commenced  his  civil,  legis- 
lative, and  diplomatic  career  ;  or  rather  he  was  propelled 
into  these  various  and  responsible  situations,  by  the  unsoli- 
cited suffrages  of  his  discerning  countrymen. 

The  motto  that  has  governed  his  whole  conduct,  in  eve- 
ry public  station  is  found  in  his  own  official  language — 
u  From  a  just  responsibility  I  shall  never  shrink.'* 


JAMES  MONROE. 

At  iii<  age  ol  twenty-thn  e  ycai      be  wu 
the  highest  branch  of  the  legislature  <>f  \ii^iih.i. 
At  t w<nt y-('oiir .  he  was  elected  a  member  <>f  the  mosl 

.iinil  t>M(|\  of  men  i  •  ened  in  the  \\  est<  i  n  H 

isphere,  and  who  had  to  discharge  the  most  importanl  and 
solemn  dut)  ever  devolved  upon  an  human  tribunal.  it 
to  less  tli. in  to  govern  three  millions  of  high-minded 
people,  in  whom  was  awakened  the  Blumb< 
Freedom  which  once  glowed  in  the  bosoms  of  Saxon  Free- 
men in  England.  They  were  always  English  Freemen  in 
America — they  had  now  become  Independent  American-. 

They  had  dauntlessly  hurled  the  gauntlet  of  defian< 
the  most  potent  empire  on  earth,  and  had  tore  asunder 
the  ligament  that  bound  them  to  it.  Mr.  Mo 
fought  with  them  as  a  soldier — he  had  legislated  with  them 
is  civilians — he  knew  them  theoretically  and  practically. 
Although  the  youngest  member  of  that  august  body,  and 
although  he  had  acquired  by  intuition,  the  maturity  of  age 
and  the  wisdom  of  experience,  he  was  still  "  Vvt  sapientia 
studlosus.')', 

The  course  he  pursued,  pointed  him  out  to  the  venera- 
ble, and  gigantic  statesmen  of  that  unequalled  assembly,  as 
one  of  the  rising  hopes  of  the  rising  Republic.  When,  by 
the  cautious  limitation  of  civil  power,  he  could  no  longer 
retain  a  seat  in  that  body,  he  left  it  with  the  approbation  of 
all. 

He  retired  to  the  bosom  of  his  native  state,  and  found,  in 
every  citizen  a  warm  friend.  He  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  Virginia  Convention,  which  was  amongst  the  first  tc 
adopt  the  American  Constitution.  The  year  after  its 
adoption.  ;d  the  age  of  thirty-one.   he  was  elected  to  the 


360  APPENDIX. 

highest  legislative  branch  of  the  government  of  the  Ameri- 
can Republic. 

The  first  Congress,  by  this  master  compact  of  human  wis- 
dom, first  found  itself  in  the  possession  of  efficient  power. 
Mr.  Monroe,  as  a  Senator,  was  aware  that  he  was  invested 
with  power,  and  that  that  power  must  be  exercised  con- 
sistently with  the  civil,  moral,  religious,  and  political  rights 
of  American  Freemen. 

It  was  in  the  Senate  that  the  vast  and  comprehensive 
views  of  this  Statesman  were  developed.  The  natural  and 
geographical  divisions  of  our  vast  Republic,  vanished  from 
his  view.  His  mental  grasp  embraced  the  whole  region 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Mississippi — from  the  Canadas  to 
the  Mexican  Gulph.  He  never  could  be  brought  to  com- 
promit  the  rights  and  privileges  of  one  section  of  the  Re- 
public for  the  benefit  of  another.  He  had  been  in  the 
Senate  four  years.  He  had  been  in  the  councils  of  Wash- 
ington during  that  period,  as  he  had  been  in  his  army  dur- 
ing the  War  of  the  Revolution.  His  cool,  collected,  and 
regulated  courage  in  the  field,  was  equalled  by  his  judg- 
ment, penetration  and  prescience  in  the  Cabinet.  He  was 
an  efficient  actor  in  the  establishment  of  the  Judiciary  and 
Financial  System  ;  and  aided  essentially  in  organizing  the 
Departments  of  State,  the  Treasury,  the  Army  and  the  Na- 
vy. He  was  there  the  man  of  business  and  the  practical 
Statesman. 

If  he  was  not  one  of  those  splendid  luminaries  that  blind 
the  beholders  by  excess  of  light,  he  tvas  a  mild  and  shining 
lamp,  that  guided  the  doubting,  hesitating,  and  fearful,  in 
the  safe  path  of  statistical  experience.  In  the  midst  of  the 
difficulties  which  encompassed  the  American  Statesman 
who  put  the  intricate  machine  of  a  Republic's  government 


i  kMES  MONROE. 

into  operation,  Mr.  Monroe  was  designated  bj  V 

td  till  a  Btation  -till   more  difficult-  o    station  upon 
v\  hich  "  -i';t<l<>\\ •-  clouds  and  darkness  rested." 

!!«•  was  appointed  Ambassador  to  1 1 »< ■  French  Republic. 
Twenty-five  millions  of  Frenchmen  had  disenthralled  and 
emancipated  themselves  from  a  monarchical  despotism 
an  e<  <  U  siastical  tyranny,  which  had  chained  them  to  ira 
salage  for  thirteen  centuries. 

It  was  not  like  the  American  Revolution,  in  which  Mr. 
Monroe  acted  a  conspicuous  part — an  unequalled  design, 
effected  bj  unparalleled  measures — it  was  a  sudden  convul- 
sion, .and  revulsion,  that  transcended,  and  prostrated  the 
whole  system  of  ordinal)  human  operations.  It  showed 
that  the  modern  Gauls  knew  no  medium  between  absolute 
destruction,  and  systematic  reformation.  It  was  like  the 
suppressed  lire  of  a  volcanic  mountain,  gathering  strength 
by  suppression  and  evincing  its  latent  power  by  a  devasta- 
ting and  irresistable  eruption. 

In  the  midst  of  this  combustion,  Mr.  Monroe  appeared 
in  the  metropolis  of  the  then  French  Republic,  (the  ally  of 
America  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution)  as  the  mild  and  dig- 
nified representative,  of  a  mild,  dignified,  and  rising  Repub- 
lic in  the  New  World. 

lii^  post  was  a  post  of  duty  and  of  danger.  The  una- 
dorned majesty  of  his  character,  shone  with  a  lustre,  which, 
while  it  conciliated  the  ardent  leaders  of  the  French  Revo- 
lutionist-, maintained,  unimpaired,  the  exalted  administra- 
tion of  the  exalted  Washingron. 

Recalled  to  the  Cabinet  of  the  American  Republic.  In 
evinced  to  his  government  that  in  the  land  of  Fayette, 
Rochambeau,  and  Mirabeau,  and  in  the  midst  of  the 
Robespierres,  Mar  at  s.  and  Dantons,  of  the.  French  Revolu- 


362  APPENDIX. 

tion,  he  was  still  the  cool,  the  firm,  the  unshaken,  American 
Republican.  The  sentence  of  Washington,  at  this  por- 
tentous period,  is  the  best  eulogy — "  I  believe  James  Mon- 
roe to  be  an  honest  man." 

The  citizens  of  his  native  state,  also  the  native  state  of 
Washington,  Jefferson,  Madison  and  Henry,  deeply 
penetrated  with,  and  fully  conscious  of  his  worth,  placed 
him  in  the  gubernatorial  chair  of  Virginia,  from  which,  after 
the  expiration  of  the  constitutional  term,  he  carried  an 
unanimous  vote  of  thanks,  for  the  faithful,  dignified,  and 
impartial  manner  in  which  he  had  discharged  the  duties  of 
Chief  Magistrate. 

Retiring  from  the  perpetual  excitement  and  solicitude  of 
public  life,  Mr.  Monroe  had  scarcely  began  to  enjoy  the 
sweets  of  repose,  before  Mr.  Jeffrson,  at  the  head  of  the 
Republic,  designated  him  to  assert  and  maintain  the  rights 
of  America,  before  the  Court  of  France. 

The  native  expanse  of  his  views,  continued  to  expand 
with  his  expanding  country.  He  viewed  the  waters  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  the  Missouri,  as  of  little  less  importance  to 
his  country  than  those  of  the  Atlantic  ;  and  the  immense 
region  of  Louisiana  a  wild  territory  at  the  West,  of  a  future 
value  approximating  to  the  invaluable  worth  of  the  cultiva- 
ted region  at  the  East. 

His  masterly  penetration,  as  a  diplomatist,  secured  them 
both  for  the  Republic. 

Devoted  to  his  country  from  innate  and  acquired  princi- 
ple, and  clothed  with  its  authority,  he  repaired  to  the  vas- 
cillating  court  of  Spain,  and  left  it  as  he  found  it,  the 
sink  of  intrigue  and  corruption. 

From  thence  he  passed  to  the  court  of  Britain.     He  there 


163  JAMES  MONRO£. 

round  himself,  Burrounded   bj  the   imperious  ministen 
the  mosj  potent  nv:il  <>l  the  American  Republic. 

Serene,  unmoved,  and  perfect  master  of  himself,  and  of 
bis  business,  be  effected  what  then  could  be  effected  l>\  n<  - 
gotiation-  -returned  home,  and  left  the  event  with  hie  i  ouni 
try. 

The  opinion  formed  of  his  services  abroad,  was  eviden- 
ced by  pla<  ing  him  again  in  the  office  of  Chief  Magistrate 
of  Virginia. 

But  his  character  had  become  identified  with  the  rights 
the  glory  and  the  dignity  of  the  whole  Republic  ;  and  M  to 
he  successor  of  Jefferson,  called  him  to  fill  the  all- 
important  Department  oftState. 

In  this  station  the  Scholar,  the  Patriot,  and  the  States- 
man shone  conspicuously,  and  perspicuously,  in  James 
Monroe.  No  British  subtilty  could  enthrall — no  vapid 
promises  allure — no  menacing  tone  could  deter  the  Secre- 
tary. 

The  tirm  language  of  remonstrance   gave  place  to  the 
sonorous  notes  of  war  ;  and  the  insulted  country  was  man- 
fully told  that  protracted  negotiation  was  ended  by  an  ap 
peal  to  arms. 

Mr.  Monroe,  during  the  two  first  compaigns  of  the  se- 
cond war  with  Britain,  sustained  the  dignity  of  the  State 
Department,  and,  amidst  the  accumulated  horrors  of  Van- 
dal invasion,  and  Gothic  devastation,  was  called  also  to 
head  the  Department  of  War. 

Upon  one  day  he  had  to  act  a  significant  part  in  the  Ca- 
binet— upon  another  to  give  official  direction  to  the  thun 
ders   of  Pittsburgh,   the  Canadian  Peninsula,  and  New- 
Orleans. 

Upon  the  return  of  an  honourable  peace,  after  a  glori- 


m  APPENDIX. 

ous  war,  upon  the  land  and  on  the  ocean,  the  Secretary  ot 
State  and  of  War  enjoyed  a  temporary  repose  from  the  tur- 
moil and  agitation,  of  a  vast  accumulation  of  official  duty. 
,  The  highest  honour  which  man  can  claim  in  the  nine- 
teenth century,  now  awaited  the  acceptance  of  James  Mon- 
roe. 

He  had  been  virtually  elected  the  Fifth  President  of  the 

American  Republic,  by  the  spontaneous  voice  of  the  Amer- 
ican People  ;  and  needed  only  the  Constitutional  Formu- 
lae to  inaugurate  him  into  that  station — above  all  other 
temporal  elevation — the  Chief  Ruler  of  the  only  genuine 
Republic  on  earth ;  and  made  such  by  the  election  of  ten 
millions  of  the  freest,  happiest,  .and  most  intelligent  peo- 
ple in  the  world. 

The  most  impassioned  language  of  eulogy  would  lag  far 
behind  reality,  in  speaking  of  his  administration.  It  is 
found  in  the  increasing  happiness  ;  the  augmenting  wealth  ; 
the  moral  and  intellectual  energy  ;  the  rising  glory,  and 
impregnable  defence  of  the  great  nation  over  which  he 
presides. 

This  feeble  sketch  of  the  Character  and  Public  Services 
of  James  Monroe  will  be  closed  by  a  sketch  still  more  im- 
perfect, of  his  person. 

He  is  a  very  little  above  the  middle  height  of  Americans, 
in  his  stature.  Although  he  does  not  possess  a  robust 
frame,  his  presence  would  evince,  to  a  close  observer,  that 
he  was  a  man  of  very  considerable  muscular  power. 

There  is  not  the  least  appearance  of  lassitude  in  his  per- 
son ;  but  it  exhibits  a  natural  compactness,  increased  by 
bodily  activity  and  vigorous  exertion. 

In  the  expression  of  his  countenance,  there  is  nothing 
that  would  attract  attention,  were  it  not  for  the  character 
he  has  acquired,  and  the  sphere  in  which  he  moves. 


JAMES  MONROE.  3f,5 

lie  seems  to  be  a  perfect  novice  in  the  art  of '  for  emu  in- 
to his  (ace,  oceular  evidence  of  deep  thought,  wonderful 
acuteness,  m  the  lineaments  of  wisdom  ;  and  the  phisiog* 
nomist  would  despair  of  gathering  (he  qualities  ol  his  mind, 
from  exterior  indices.  Nor  would  the  crcmiologiri  six 
any  belter;  for  Ins  head,  like  Ins  (ace,  in  i(s  exterior,  is 
not  striking!)  different  from  other  men's ;  and  as  lie  is  sixty- 
three  years  of  age,  it  dees  not  exhibit  more  of  the  ravages 
oftime  than  usually  falls  to  the  human  lot. 

When  silent,  his  countenance  indicates  something  like 
forbidding  austerity  ;  but  in  familiar  conversation,  and 
when  reciprocating  civilities,  it  is  often  lighted  up  with  a 
smile,  beaming  with  benignity  and  benevolence. 

When  disengaged  from  official  duties,  his  deportment  is 
easy,  unaffected,  and  unassuming.  The  disciples  of  Stan- 
hope,  although  they  would  discover  in  the  President  a  suf- 
ficiency of  "  modest  assurance,"  they  would  look  in  vain 
for  that  artificial  "  suavity  of  manners"  so  captivating  with 
superficial  courtiers. 

His  manners  are  those  of  a  plain,  dignified  gentleman. 
The  graces,  at  his  command,  seem  to  have  volunteered 
their  services,  conscious  that  into  his  service  they  never 
would  have  been  impressed.  His  courtesies  proceed  from 
his  native  benignity,  and  his  artless  display  of  them  would 
suffuse  the  cheek  of  affectation  with  the  blush  of  shame. 

If  the  President  Ijas  any  affectation,  it  is  in  his  dress  ; 
which  though  neat  and  rich,  is  so  exceedingly  plain,  that, 
in  a  promiscuous  assemblage,  he  could  with  difficulty  be 
identified. 

In  his  different  Tours*  through  our  vast  Republic,  for 

*  The  following  elegant  extract  is  from  an  address  delivered  to 
Mr.  Monroe  upon  reaching  the  borders  of  the  State  of  Maine  in  1817. 

48 


366  APPENDIX. 

eigners,  and  those  who  ape  the  wardrobe  of  foreigners* 
wondered  where  he  was  ;  and,  when  they  saw  him,  won- 
dered ! ! 

Such,  imperfectly  drawn,  is  the  person,  the  deportment, 
and  appearance  of  the  man,  whose  character  is  known  in 
the  two  hemispheres — duly  appreciated  in  the  East — ad- 
mired, respected,  and  venerated  in  the  West. 

If  he  survives  his  Presidential  Dignities,  and,  like  his 
great  predecessors,  Washington,  Adams,  Jefferson  and 
Madison,  seeks  repose  in  retirement* — there,  when  ap- 
pearing in  native,  unadorned  majesty — "  Nature  may  stand 
up  to  all  the  world,  and  claim  him  as  her  own."  From 
this  "  private  station,"  which  to  him  will  be  "  the  post  of 
honour,"  he  may  in  retrospect,  (retiring  into  himself)  con- 
template upon  a  Life  devoted  to  the  great  cause  of  the 

The  Committee  who  offered  it  consisted  of  the  present  Gov.  Parris, 
Hon.  John  Holmes,  and  W.  P.  Preble,  (son  of  Com.  Preble:) 

"  This  journey,  like  the  journey  of  your  life,  is  commenced  and  pur- 
sued for  the  public  good.  Like  that,  its  fatigues  have  been  endured 
with  patience,  its  obstacles  overcome  with  perseverance,  its  storms 
encountered  with  firmness,  and  its  refreshing  sunshines  relished  with 
equanimity  and  gratitude.  In  each,  as  you  have  advanced,  you  have 
acquired  additional  honour,  reverence,  and  love.  In  your  future  pro- 
gress in  both,  may  your  health  be  preserved,  your  country's  prosperi- 
ty and  glory  secured  ;  and  the  affections,  confidence,  and  union  of  the 
people  increased  and  confirmed.  And  when  these  respective  journies 
shall  be  ended,  and  you  shall  return  home,  may  you  at  the  close  of 
the  one,  be  received  in  health  and  happiness  to  the  embraces  of  an  af- 
fectionate family,  and  of  the  other,  to  the  favour  and  fruition  of  Him. 
who  will  never  fail  to  reward  the  great  and  the  good." 

*  "  It  has  ever  been  my  proudest  ambition  from  early  youth  to  serve 
my  country,  in  such  offices  as  my  fellow. citizens  have  thought  fit  to 
confide  to  me.  It  will  be  my  most  consoling  reward,  when  I  retire 
from  public  life,  to  find,  that  my  conduct  has  been  such  as  to  merit 
and  obtain  their  approbation."    Tour  of  Monroe,  p.  198,  3d  edition- 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFERSON. 

Great  Republic— upon  the  honour-  conferred  upon  him 
in  his  country— and  patientlj  wail  for  thai  Older  of  his 
Supreme  Commander,  which  will  remove  him  from  his 
temporal  to  his  eternal  honours. 


The  following  "  Familiar  Letters,"  and  opinions  of  the 
Second  and  Third  Presidents  of  the  American  Re- 
PUBLic,  both  of  whom  were  (he  warm  friends  of  Com. 
Murray,  are  annexed  with  undissembled  delight. 

The  language  of  these  "  venerable  octogenarians,"  the 
one  labouring  under  years  near  half  in  number  of  those  of 
Civilized  New  England,  and  the  other  of  an  age  more  than 
one  third  of  that  which  is  sometimes  called  the  "  Ancient 
Dominion"  of  the  Republic,  ought  to  be  treasured  up  by 
the  rising  generation  of  American  Patriots,  with  as  much 
avidity,  as  were  the  "  more  last  words,"  of  an  eminent  di- 
vine in  the  17th  century,  by  the  devotional  professors  of 
Christianity. 

These  "  last  words"  of  Adams  and  Jefferson,  are  al- 
most like  a  "  voice  from  the  tomb,"  uttered  by  dead  wor- 
thies, to  their  surviving  posterity.  "  Fortunatus  Senex  .'" 
may  Americans  exclaim  to  each  of  these  venerated  Pat- 
riots, Scholars,  and  Statesmen,  You  have  lived  for  the  Re- 
public, and  in  the  remembrance  of  that  Republic  you  will 
never  die.     The  motto  of  these  great  men  may  well  be— 

"  After  my  death,  1  wish  no  other  herald, 
No  other  speaker  of  my  living  actions, 
To  keep  mine  honour  from  corruption, 
But  such  an  honest  chronicler  as  Griffith." 

This  letter  may  be  said  to  be  "  multum  in  parvo."  This 
Doctor  of  Laws  probes  the  wounds  of  the  colonies  to  the 
bottom  ;  as  a  Doctor  of  Medicine  searches  the  remote 
cause  of  the  disease  of  his  patient.     He  does  not  try  to 


368  APPENDIX. 

remove  the  eruption  upon  the  surface,  but  endeavours  t* 
extirpate  the  impurities  of  the  blood  which  occasion  it. 
It  proves,  in  few  words,  the  truth  of  Mr.  Jefferson's  re- 
marks regarding  Mr.  Adams.  "  No  one  is  better  calcula- 
ted than  he,  to  give  to  the  reader  a  correct  impression  of 
the  earlier  part  of  the  contest."  [The  War  of  the  Revo- 
lution.] 

quincy,  Feb.   13,  1818. 

Mr.  Niles — The  American  Revolution  was  not  a  com- 
mon event.  Its  effects  and  consequences  have  already 
been  awful  over  a  great  part  of  the  globe.  And  when  and 
where  are  they  to  cease  ? 

But  what  do  we  mean  by  the  American  Revolution  ? 
Do  we  mean  the  American  War  ?  The  Revolution  was 
effected  before  the  War  commenced.  The  Revolution 
was  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  people.  A  change  in 
their  religious  sentiments,  of  their  duties  and  obligations. 
While  the  king,  and  all  in  authority  under  him,  were  be- 
lieved to  govern  in  justice  and  mercy  according  to  the 
laws  and  constitution  derived  to  them  from  the  God  of  na- 
ture, and  transmitted  to  them  by  their  ancestors — they 
thought  themselves  bound  to  pray  for  the  king  and  queen 
and  all  the  royal  family,  and  all  in  authority,  under  them  ; 
as  ministers  ordained  of  God  for  their  good.  But  when 
they  saw  those  powers  renouncing  all  the  principles  of  au- 
thority, and  bent  upon  the  destruction  of  all  the  securities 
of  their  lives,  liberties  and  properties,  they  thought  it  their 
duty  to  pray  for  the  Continental  Congress  and  all  the  thir- 
teen state  congresses,  &c. 

There  might  be,  and  there  were  others,  who  thoughtless 
about  religion  and  conscience,  but  had  certain  habitual 
sentiments  of  allegiance  and  loyalty  derived  from  their  ed- 


ADAM.s  AND  JE1  FERSON.  169 

ucation;  but  believing  allegiance  and  protection  to  Ik  re 
ciprocal,  when  protection  was  withdrawn,  the  j  thought  al- 
legiance an  as  diss  oh  i  d< 

Another  alteration  was  common  to  all.  The  peoi  I 
America  had  been  educated  in  an  habitual  affection  for 
England  as  their  mother  country  ;  and  while  they  thought 
her  a  kind  and  tender  parent,  (erroneously  enough,  how- 
ever, for  she  never  was  such  a  mother)  no  affection  could 
be  more  sincere.  But  when  they  found  her  a  cruel  Bel- 
dam, willing  like  lady  Macbeth,  to  "  dash  their  brains  out," 
jt  is  no  wonder  if  their  filial  affections  ceased  and  were 
changed  into  indignation  and  horror. 

This  radical  change  in  the  principles,  opinions,  sentiments 
and  affections  of  the  people,  was  the  real  American  revolution. 

By  what  means,  this  great  and  important  alteration  in 
the  religious,  moral,  political  and  social  character  of  the 
people  of  thirteen  colonies,  all  distinct,  unconnected  and 
independent  of  each  other,  was  begun,  pursued  and  accom- 
plished, it  is,  surely  interesting  to  humanity  to  investigate? 
and  perpetuate  to  posterity. 

The  colonies  had  grown  up  under  constitutions  of  gov- 
ernment so  different,  there  was  so  great  a  variety  of  reli- 
gions, they  were  composed  of  so  many  different  nations, 
their  customs,  manners  and  habits  had  so  little  resemblance, 
and  their  intercoorse  had  been  so  rare  and  their  knowledge 
of  each  other  so  imperfect,  that  to  unite  them  in  the  same 
principles  of  theory  and  the  same  system  of  action,  was 
certainly  a  very  difficult  enterprize.  The  complete  ac- 
complishment of  it,  in  so  short  a  time  and  by  such  simple 
means,  was  perhaps  a  singular  example  in  the  history  of 
mankind.  Thirteen  clocks  were  made  to  strike  together  ; 
a  perfection  of  machinery  which  no  artist  had  ever  before 
effected. 


370  APPENDIX. 

In  this  research,  the  glorioroles  of  individual  gentlemen 
and  of  separate  states  is  of  little  consequence.  The  means 
and  the  measures  are  the  proper  objects  of  investigation. 
These  may  be  of  use  to  posterity,  not  only  in  this  nation, 
but  in  South-America  and  all  other  countries.  They  may 
teach  mankind  that  revolutions  are  not  trifles  ;  that  they 
ought  never  to  be  undertaken  rashly  ;  nor  without  deliber- 
ate consideration  and  sober  reflection  ;  nor  without  a  solid, 
immutable,  eternal  foundation  of  justice  and  humanity  ; 
nor  without  a  people  possessed  of  intelligence,  fortitude 
and  integrity  sufficient  to  carry  them  with  steadiness,  pa- 
tience, and  perseverance,  through  all  the  vicissitudes  of 
fortune,  the  fiery  trials  and  melancholy  disasters  they  may 
have  to  encounter. 

The  town  of  Boston  early  instituted  an  annual  oration 
of  the  fourth  of  July,  in  commemoration  of  the  principles 
and  feelings  which  contributed  to  produce  the  revolution. 
Many  of  those  orations  I  have  heard,  and  all  that  I  could 
obtain  I  have  read.  Much  ingenuity  and  eloquence  ap- 
pears upon  every  subject,  except  those  principles  and 
feelings.  That  of  my  honest  and  amiable  neighbour,  Josi- 
ah  Quincy,  appeared  to  me  the  most  directly  to  the  pur- 
pose of  the  institution.  Those  principles  and  feelings 
ought  to  be  traced  back  for  two  hundred  years,  and  sought 
in  the  history  of  the  country  from  the  first  plantations  in 
America.  Nor  should  the  feelings  of  the  English  and 
Scots  towards  the  colonies,  through  that  whole  period  ever 
be  forgotten.  The  perpetual  discordance  between  British 
principles  and  feelings  and  of  those  of  America,  the  next 
year  after  the  suppression  of  the  French  power  in  Ameri- 
ca, came  to  a  crisis,  and  produced  an  explosion. 

It  was  not  till  after  the  annihilation  of  the   French  do- 


\1)\MS  AND  JEFFERSON, 

minion  in  America,  that  any  British  ministry  ha<l  dared  to 
gratify  their  own  wishes,  and  the  desire  of  the  nation,  b; 
projecting  a  formal  plan  for  raising  a  national  revenue  from 
America,  f>\  parliamentary  taxation.  Th»-  first  great  man- 
ifestation of  this  design  was  bj  the  order  to  can*)  into  Btri<  I 
executions  those  acts  ofparliament  which  were  well  known 
by  the  appellation  of  the  acts  of  trade,  winch  bad  lain  a 
dead  letter,  for  more  than  half  a  century,  and  some  of  th»  in 
1  Relieve,  for  nearly  a  whole  our. 

This  produced  in  1760  and  17G1,  an  awakening  and  a 
revival  of  American  principles  and  feelings,  with  an  enthu- 
siasm which  went  on  increasing,  till  in  1775,  it  burst  out  in 
open  violence,  hostility  and  fury. 

The  characters  the  most  conspicuous,  the  most  ardent 
and  influential  in  this  revival,  from  1  7G0  to  176G,  were — 
first  and  foremost,  before  all  and  above  all,  James  Otis  ;* 
next  to  him  was  Oxenbridge  Thatcher;  next  to  him 
Samuel  Adams  ;  next  to  him,  John  Hancock  ;  then  Dr. 
Mayhev/,  then  Dr.  Cooper  and  his  brother.  Of  Mr.  Han- 
cock's life,  character,  generous  nature,  great  and  disinter- 
ested sacrifices,  and  important  services,  if  I  had  forces,  i 
should  be  glad  to  write  a  volume.  But  this  I  hope  will  be 
done  by  some  younger  and  abler  hand.  Mr.  Thatcher, 
because  his  name  and  merits  are  less  known,  must  not  be 
wholly  omitted.  This  gentleman  was  an  excellent  barris- 
ter  at  law,  in  as  large  practice  as  any  one  in  Boston.  There 
was  not  a  citizen  of  that  town  more  universally  beloved 
for  his  learning,  ingenuity,  every  domestic  and  social    vir- 

♦Tudor's  life  of  James  Otis  may  well  occupy  the  same  bureau  as 
Wirt's  Life  of  Patrick  Henry.  The  ancient  dominion  of  Massachu- 
setts has  found  an  advocate,  as  well  as  the  ancient  dominion  of  Vir- 
ginia. 


APPENDIX. 

tue,  and  conscientious  conduct  in  every  relation  of  life. 
His  patriotism  was  as  ardent  as  his  progenitors  had  been 
ancient  and  illustrious  in  this  country.  Hutchinson  often 
said  that  «  Thatcher  was  not  born  a  plebeian,  but  he  was 
determined  to  die  one."  In  May,  1763,  I  believe  he  was 
chosen  by  the  town  of  Boston  one  of  their  representatives 
in  the  legislature,  a  colleague  with  Mr.  Otis,  who  had  been 
a  member  from  May  1761,  and  he  continued  to  be  re-elec- 
ted annually  till  his  death  in  1765,  when  Mr.  Samuel 
Adams  was  elected  to  fill  his  place,  in  the  absence  of  Mr. 
Otis,  then  attending  the  congress  at  New-York.  Thatcher 
had  long  been  jealous  of  the  unbounded  ambition  of  Mr. 
Hutchinson,  but  when  he  found  him  not  content  with  the 
office  of  Lieutenant-Governor,  the  command  of  the  castle 
and  its  emoluments,  of  judge  of  probate  for  the  county  of 
Suffolk,  a  seat  in  his  majesty's  council  in  the  legislature, 
his  brother-in-law  secretary  of  state  by  the  king's  commis- 
sion, a  brother  of  that  secretary  of  State,  a  judge  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  and  a  member  of  council,  now  in  1760  and 
1761,  soliciting  and  accepting  the  office  of  chief  justice  of 
the  superier  court  of  judicature,  he  concluded,  as  Mr.  Otis 
did,  and  as  every  other  enlightened  friend  of  his  country 
did,  that  he  sought  that  office  with  the  determined  purpose 
of  determining  all  causes  in  favour  of  the  ministry  at  St, 
James's  and  their  servile  parliament. 

His  indignation  against  him  henceforward,  to  1765,  when 
he  died,  knew  no  bounds  but  truth.  I  speak  from  personal 
knowledge. — For,  from  1758  to  1765,  I  attended  every 
superior  and  inferior  court  in  Boston,  and  recollect  not  one 
in  which  he  did  not  invite  me  home  to  spend  evenings  with 
him,  when  he  made  me  converse  with  him  as  well  as  I 
'vould,  on  all  subjects  of  religion,  morals,  law,  politics,  his- 


ADAMS    \M>  JEFFERSON. 

philosophy,  belles  lettres,  theology,  mytholog 
gany,  metaphysics.— Locke,  Clark,  Leibwite,  Bohngb* 

kley, — the  pre-established  barmonj  of  the  universe, 
the  nature  of  matter  and  of  r-pi rit,  and  the  eternal  estab- 
lishment of  coincidences  between  their  operations,  late. 
foreknowledge,  absolute — and  we  reasoned  on  such  un- 
fathomable subject  as  iii^h  as  Milton's  gentry  in  pande- 
monium ;  and  we  understood  them  as  well  as  they  did,  and 
no  better. — To  such  mighty  mysteries  he  added  the  news 
of  the  day,  and  the  tittle-tattle  of  the  town.  But  his  fa- 
vorite subject  was  politics,  and  the  impending  threatening 
system  of  parliamentary  taxation  and  universal  government 
over  the  colonies.  On  this  subject  he  was  so  anxious  and 
agitated  that  I  have  no  doubt  it  occasioned  his  premature 
death.  From  the  time  when  he  argued  the  question  of 
writs  of  assistance  to  his  death,  he  considered  the  king, 
ministry,  parliament  and  nation  of  Great-Britain  as  deter- 
mined to  new  model  the  colonies  from  the  foundation  ;  to 
annul  all  their  charters,  to  constitute  them  ail  royal  gov- 
ernments ;  to  raise  a  revenue  in  America  by  parliamentary 
taxation  ;  to  apply  that  revenue  to  pay  the  salaries  of  gov- 
ernors, judges  and  all  other  crown  officers ;  and,  after  alt 
this,  to  raise  as  large  a  revenue  as  they  pleased,  to  be  ap- 
plied to  national  purposes  at  the  exchequer  in  England ; 
and  further  to  establish  bishops  and  the  whole  system  of  the 
church  of  England,  tythes  and  all,  throughout  all  British 
America.  This  system,  he  said,  if  it  was  suffered  to  pre- 
vail would  extinguish  the  flame  of  liberty  all  over  the 
world  ;  that  America  would  be  employed  as  an  engine  to 
batter  down  all  the  miserable  remains  of  liberty  in  Great- 
Britain  and  Ireland,  where  only  any  semblance  of  it  was 

left  in  the  world.     To  this  system  he  considered  Hutchin- 

A'J 


374  APPENDIX. 

son,  the  Olivers'  and  all  their  connections,  dependants,  ad~ 
herents,  shoe-lickers— as  entirely  devoted.  He  asserted 
that  they  were  all  engaged  with  all  the  crown  officers  in 
America  and  the  understrappers  of  the  ministry  in  England, 
in  a  deep  and  treasonable  conspiracy  to  betray  the  liberties 
of  their  country,  for  their  own  private  personal  and  family 
aggrandizement.  His  phillippicks  against  the  unprincipled 
ambition  and  avarice  of  all  of  them,  but  especially  of 
Hutchinson,  were  unbridled  ;  not  only  in  private,  confiden- 
tial conversations,  but  in  all  companies  and  on  all  occasions. 
He  gave  Hutchinson  the  sobriquet  of  "  Summa  Protestatis," 
and  rarely  mentioned  him  but  by  the  name  of  "  Summa." 
His  liberties  of  speech  wer^  no  secrets  to  his  enemies.  I 
have  sometimes  wondered  that  they  did  not  throw  him  over 
the  bar,  as  they  did  soon  afterwards  major  Hawley.  For 
they  hated  him  worse  than  they  did  James  Otis,  or  Samuel 
Adams,  and  they  feared  him  more — because  they  had  no 
revenge  for  a  father's  disappointment  of  a  seat  on  the  supe- 
rior bench  to  impute  to  him  as  they  did  to  Otis  ;  and 
Thatcher's  character  through  life  had  been  so  modest,  de- 
cent, unassuming — his  morals  so  pure,  and  his  religion  so 
venerated,  that  they  dared  not  attack  him.  In  his  office 
were  educated  to  the  bar,  two  eminent  characters,  the  late 
judge  Lowell,  and  Josiah  Quincy,  aptly  called  the  Boston 
Cicero. 

Mr.  Thatcher's  frame  was  slender,  his  constitution  deli- 
cate ;  whether  his  physicians  overstrained  his  vessels  with 
mercury,  when  he  had  the  small  pox  by  inoculation  at  the 
castle,  or  whether  he  was  overplyed  by  public  anxieties 
and  exertions,  the  small  pox  left  him  in  a  decline  from  which 
he  never  recovered.  Not  long  before  his  death  he  sent  for 
me  to  commit  to  my  care  some  of  his  business  at  the  bar. 


tfMMS    \M>  JEFFERSON. 

(asked  him  whether  he  had  seen  the  Virginia   resolv< 
"  O  yes — they  are  men!    they  are  noble  spirits !    It   kilU 
me  to  think  of  the  lethargy  and  stupidity  tlinf  prevail  h 
I  longto  be  out.     I  will  go  out.     I  will  g<>  out.     I  will  go 
into  court,  and  make  a  spe<  i  h  \\  hich  shall  be  read  after  mj 
death  as  m)  dying  testimony  against  this   infernal   tyrann) 
which  the}  are  bringingupon  us."     Seeing  the  viol<  nt 
tation  into  winch  it  threw  him,  I  changed  tin  subject  as  soon 
as  possible,  and  retired.     Had  he  been  confined  for  some 
time.     Had  he  been  abroad   among  the  people,  he  would 
not  have  complained  so  pathetically  of  the  "  lethargy  and 
stupidity  that  prevailed,"  for  town  and  country  were  all 
alive  ;  and  in  August  became  active   enough,   and  some  of 
the  people   proceeded   to   unwarrantable  excesses,  which 
were  more  lamented  by  the  patriots  than  their  enemies. — 
Mr.  Thatcher  soon  died,  deeply  lamented  by  all  the  friends 
of  their  country. 

Another  gentleman  who  had  great  influence  in  the  com- 
mencement of  the  revolution,  was  Dr.  Jonathan  Mayhew, 
a  descendant  of  the  ancient  governor  of  Martha's  Vineyard. 
This  divine  had  raised  a  great  reputation  both  in  Europe 
and  America,  by  the  publication  of  a  volume  of  seven  ser- 
mons in  the  reign  of  king  George  the  second,  1749,  and  by 
many  other  writings,  particularly  a  sermon  in  1750,  on  the 
thirtieth  of  January,  on  the  subject  of  passive  obedience 
and  non-resistance  ;  in  which  the  saintship  and  martyrdom 
of  king  Charles  the  first  are  considered,  seasoned  with  wit 
and  satire  superior  to  any  in  Swift  and  Franklin.  It  was 
read  by  every  body  ;  celebrated  by  friends  and  abused  by 
enemies. — During  the  reigns  of  king  George  the  first  and 
king  George  the  second,  the  reigns  of  the  Stuarts,  the  two 
Jameses  and  the  two  Charleses,  were  in  general  disgrace 


376  APPENDIX. 

in  England.  In  America  they  had  always  been  held  in  ab- 
horrence.— The  persecutions  and  cruelties  suffered  by  their 
ancestors  under  those  reigns  had  been  transmitted  by  his- 
tory and  tradition,  and  Mayhew  seemed  to  be  raised  up  to 
revive  all  their  animosities  against  tyranny,  in  church  and 
state,  and  at  the  same  time  to  destroy  their  bigotry,  fanati- 
cism and  inconsistency.  David  Hume's  plausible,  elegant, 
fascinating  and  fallacious  apology,  in  which  he  varnished 
over  the  crimes  of  the  btuarts,  had  not  then  appeared.  To 
draw  the  character  of  Mayhew  would  be  to  transcribe  a 
dozen  volumes.  This  transcendant  genius  threw  all  the 
weight  of  his  great  fame  into  the  scale  of  his  country  in 
1751,  and  maintained  it  there  with  zeal  and  ardour  till  his 
death  in  1 76G.  In  1 763  appeared  the  controversy  between 
him  and  Mr.  Apthorp,  Mr.  Caner,  Dr.  Johnson  and  Arch- 
bishop Seeker,  on  the  charter  and  conduct  of  the  society 
for  propagating  the  gospel  in  foreign  parts.  To  form  a 
judgment  of  this  debate,  I  beg  leave  to  refer  to  a  review 
of  the  whole,  printed  at  the  time  and  written  by  Samuel 
Adams,  though  by  some,  very  absurdly  and  erroneously, 
ascribed  to  Mr.  Apthorp.  If  I  am  not  mistaken,  it  will  be 
found  a  model  of  candor,  sagacity,  impartiality,  and  close, 
correct  reasoning. 

If  any  gentleman  supposes  this  controversy  to  be  nothing 
to  the  present  purpose,  he  is  grossly  mistaken.  It  spread 
an  universal  alarm  against  the  authority  of  parliament.  It 
excited  a  general  and  just  apprehension  that  bishops,  and 
diocesses,  and  churches,  and  priests  and  tythes,  were  to  be 
imposed  on  us  by  parliament.  It  was  known  that  neither 
king  nor  ministry,  nor  archbishops,  could  appoint  bishops  in 
America  without  an  act  of  parliament ;  and  if  parliament 
could  tax  us,  they  could  establish  the  church  of  England, 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFERSON.  171 

with  all  its^reeds,  articles,  tests,  ceremonies  and  tythes, 
and  prohibit  all  other  churches  as  i  onventicles  and  b<  hism 

r-llO|>>. 

.Nor  must  Mr.  ( lushing  be  forgotten.  1  li-  good  Bense  and 
Sound  judgment,  1 1 1 < -  urbanity  of  his  manners,  his  universal 
good  character,  his  numerous  friends  ami  connexions,  and 
ontinual  intercourse  with  all  sorts  of  people,  added  to 
his  constant  attachment  to  the  liberties  of  his  countrj  .  gave 
him  a  great  and  salutary  influence  from  the  beginning  in 
17G0. 

Let  me  recommend  these  hints  to  the  consideration  of 
Mr.  Wirt,  whose  life  of  Mr.  Heur)  I  have  read  with  great 
delight.  I  think,  that  after  mature  investigation,  he  will 
be  convinced  that  Mr.  Henry  did  not  --give  the  first  im- 
pulse to  the  ball  of  independence" — and  that  Otis,  Thatch- 
er, Samuel  Adams,  Ma)  hew,  Hancock,  Cushing,  and  thou- 
sands of  others  were  labouring  for  several  years  at  the 
wheel  before  the  name  of  Henry  was  heard  beyond  the  lim- 
its of  Virginia. 

If  you  print  this,  I  will  endeavor  to  send  you  something 
concerning  Samuel  Adams,  who  was  destined  to  a  longer 
career, and  to  acta  more  conspicuous  and,  perhaps, a  more 
important  part  than  any  other  man.  But  his  life  would  re- 
quire a  volume.  If  you  decline  printing  this  letter,  1  pray 
you  to  return  it,  as  soon  as  possible,  to, 
Sir,  your  humble  servant, 

JOHN  ADAMS." 

The  following  letter  is  a  precious  morccau  ;  as  it  evinces 
the  exalted  magnanimity  of  Mr.  Jeffersok,  in  giving  to 
his  once  great  political  rival,  Mr.  Adams  the  rank  he  de- 


378     .  APPENDIX. 

serves  amongst  that  matchless  constellation  of  Statesmen 
who  composed  the  Old  Congress. — 

"  Monticello,  February  19,  1813. 

Sir — Your  favour  of  the  13th  has  been  duly  received, 
together  with  the  papers  it  covered,  and  particularly  Mr. 
Barralet's  sketch  of  the  ornaments  proposed  to  accompany 
the  publication  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  con- 
templated by  Mr.  Murray  and  yourself.  I  am  too  little  vers- 
ed in  the  art  of  design,  to  be  able  to  offer  any  suggestions  to 
the  artist.  As  far  as  I  am  a  judge,  the  composition  appears 
to  be  judicious  and  well  imagined.  Were  I  to  hazard  a 
suggestion,  it  should  be,  that  Mr.  Hancock,  as  president  of 
Congress,  should  occupy  the  middle  and  principal  place. 

No  man  better  merited  than  Mr.  John  Adams  to  hold 
a  most  conspicuous  place  in  the  design. — He  was  the  Pil- 
lar of  its  support  on  the  Floor  of  Congress,  its  ablest  advo- 
cate and  Defender  against  the  multifarious  assaults  it  en- 
countered ;  for  many  excellent  persons  opposed  it  on  doubts 
whether  we  were  provided  sufficiently  with  the  means  of 
supporting  it,  whether  the  minds  of  our  constituents  were 
yet  prepared  to  receive  it,  &c.  who,  after  it  was  decided, 
united  zealously  in  the  measures  it  called  for. 

I  must  ask  permission  to  become  a  subscriber  for  a 
copy  when  published,  which,  if  rolled  on  a  wooden  roller, 
and  sent  by  mail,  will  come  safely. 

Accept  the  assurance  of  my  respect  and  best  wishes. 

TH  :  JEFFERSON. 

Mr.  Wm.  P.  Gardner,  Washington." 

This  extract  from  one  of  the  late  letters  of  the  venerable 
Adams,  shows  his  anxiety  to  rescue  from  oblivion  the  mem- 
ories of  the  distinguished  fathers  of  New-England.     He 


ADAMS    \M>  JEFFERSON, 

has  lived  himself  for  posterity,  and  •<<    posterity  while  he 
yet  livt  s  : — 

"  I  have  no  disposition  to  vilify  the  character  of  th<  il 
lustrious  William  Penn,  or  to   depreciate  his  meril 
celebrated  for  \\\<  wisdom,  toleration,  and  humanity  to  tin 
Indians ;  bui  I  think  thai  Ne*  England  furnishes  tl"   biog 
rapby  of  several  characters,  who,  more  than  halt' a  century 
before  him,  had  exerted  equal    talent-,   equal   exertions, 
greater  sacrifices,  and  severer  sufferings,  in  the  same  piom 
and  virtuous  cause.     Mr.  Penn  was  verj  fortunate  in  hav- 
i  choose  his  own  companions,  and  in  meeting  with  In- 
dians of  a  very  mild    and  pacific  character;  but  the   first 
settlers  in  New-England  had  spies  and  emissaries  sent  out 
with  the  express  purpose  of  counteracting  and  destroying 
their   puritanical   establishments.     The   character  of  Sir 
Christopher  Gardiner,  of  Weston,  the  heart  of  the  estab- 
lishment of  Wessaguscus,  and  Thomas  Morton,  of  Mount 
\V ailaston,  ought  to  be  minutely  investigated.     They  were 
all  in  the  confidence  of  Arch-bishop  Laud,  as  appears  ex- 
plicitly, by  the  writings  of  Thomas  Morton,  in  his  New  Ca- 
naan,    This  Thomas  Morton  was  as  great  a  plague  to  our 
Forefathers,  as  Tom  Paine  has  been  to  us  in  our  day.    His 
writings,  conduct,  and  character,   ought  to   be  examined, 
and  stated  at  full  length.     He  and  those  other  emisaries 
furnished  the  Indians  with  arms,  and  other  ammunition,  and 
taught  them  the  use  of  them;  and,  what  was  worse,  gave 
them  spirituous  liquors,  and  commenced  their  habits  of  in- 
toxication." 

Of  the  writers  of  the  two  following  letters,  who  talk  away 
in  all  the  charming  playfulness   of  a  "  green  old  age.'    w< 

may  say — 

"  They  are  men— take  them  all  in  all, 

"  We  ne'er  shall  look  upon  their  like  again." 


380  APPENDIX. 

From  Mr.  Jefferson  to  Mr.  Adams, 

"  Monticello,  June  1,  1822. 
k4  It  is  very  long,  my  dear  sir,  since  I  have  written  to 
you.  My  dislocated  wrist  is  now  become  so  stiff  that  I 
write  slowly  and  with  pain  ;  and,  therefore,  write  as  little 
as  I  can.  Yet  it  is  due  to  mutual  friendship  to  ask  once  in 
a  while  how  we  do  ?  The  papers  tel!  us  that  Gen.  Stark  is 
off  at  the  age  of  ninety-three. — *****  still  lives,  at  about 
the  same  age,  cheerful,  slender  as  a  grasshopper,  and  so 
much  without  memory  that  he  scarcely  recognizes  the 
members  of  his  household.  An  intimate  friend  of  his  call- 
ed on  him  not  long  since.  It  was  difficult  to  make  him  re- 
collect who  he  was,  and  sitting  one  hour,  he  told  him  the 
same  story  four  times  over.      Is  this  life  ? — with  laboring 

step 

To  tread  our  former  footsteps  ?  pace  the  round- 
Eternal? — to  beat  and  beat 
The  beaten  track — to  see  what  we  have  seen — 
To  taste  the  tasted — o'er  our  palates  to  descant 
Another  vintage  ? 
"  It  is,  at  most,  but  the  life  of  a  cabbage,  surely  not  worth 
a  wish.     When  all  our  faculties  have  left,  or  are  leaving  ua 
one  by  one,  sight,  hearing,  memory,  every  avenue  of  pleas- 
ing sensation  is  closed,  and  athumy,  debility,  and  mal  aise 
left  in  their  places,  when  the  friends  of  our  youth  are  all 
gone,  and  a  generation  is  risen  around  us,  whom  we  know 
not,  is  death  an  evil  ? 

When  one  by  one  our  ties  are  torn, 
And  friend  from  friend  is  snatch'd  forlorn  ; 
When  man  is  left  alone  to  mourn, 
Oh,  then,  how  sweet  it  is  to  die ! 

When  trembling  limbs  refuse  their  weight 
And  films  siow  gathering  dim  the  sight  j 
When  clouds  secure  the  mental  light, 
'Tis  nature's  kindest  boon  to  die ! 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFERSON.  381 

••  1  really  think  so.  I  have  ever  dreaded  a  floating  did 
age  ;  and  my  health  has  been  generally  bo  good  and  is  QOM 
bo  good,  that  I  dread  it  still.  The  rapid  decline  of  my 
strength  during  the  last  winter  has  made  me  hope  some- 
times that  I  see  land.  During  summer,  I  enjoy  its  tempe- 
rature, hut  1  shudder  at  the  approach  of  winter,  and  wish  I 
eould  sleep  through  it  with  the  dormouse,  and  only  wake 
with  him  in  spring,  if  ever.  They  say  that  Starke  could 
walk  about  his  room.  I  am  told  you  walk  well  and  firmly. 
I  can  only  reach  my  garden,  and  that  with  sensible  fatigue. 
I  ride,  however,  daily  ;  but  reading  is  my  delight.  I  should 
wish  never  to  put  pen  to  paper ;  and  the  more  because  of 
the  treacherous  practice  some  people  have  of  publishing 
one's  letters  without  leave.  Lord  Mansfield  declared  it  a 
breach  of  trust,  and  punishable  at  law.  I  think  it  should 
be  a  penitentiary  felony  ;  yet  you  will  have  seen  that  they 
have  drawn  me  out  into  the  arena  of  the  newspapers.  Al- 
though I  know  it  is  too  late  for  me  to  buckle  on  the  armour 
of  youth,  yet  my  indignation  would  not  permit  me  passively 
to  receive  the  kick  of  an  ass. 

"  To  turn  to  the  news  of  the  day,  it  seems  that  the  can- 
nibals of  Europe  are  going  to  eating  one  another  again.  A 
war  between  Russia  and  Turkey  is  like  the  battle  of  the 
kite  and  snake  ;  whichever  destroys  the  other,  leaves  a 
destroyer  the  less  for  the  world.  This  pugnacious  hu» 
mour  of  mankind  seems  to  be  the  law  of  his  nature,  one  of 
the  obstacles  to  too  great  multiplication  provided  in  the 
mechanism  of  the  Universe.  The  cocks  of  the  hen  yard 
kill  one  another  ;  bears,  bulls,  rams,  do  the  same,  and  a 
horse  in  his  wild  state,  kills  all  the  young  males,  until  worn 
down  with  age  and  war,  some  vigorous  youth  kills  mm.  * 
**  I  hope  we  shall  prove  how  much  happier  for  man  the 


382  APPENDIX. 

Quaker  policy  is,  and  that  the  life  of  the  feeder  is  better 
than  that  of  the  fighter  ;  and  it  is  some  consolation  that  the 
desolation  by  these  maniacs  of  one  part  of  the  earth,  is  the 
means  of  improving  it  in  other  parts.  Let  the  latter  be 
our  office  ;  and  let  us  milk  the  cow,  while  the  Russian 
holds  her  by  the  horns,  and  the  Turk  by  the  tail.*  God 
bless  you,  and  give  you  health,  strength,  good  spirits,  and  as 
much  of  life  as  you  think  worth  having. 

THO'S.  JEFFERSON. 
Mr,  Adams'1  Reply. 

Montezillo,  June  11,  1822. 
Dear  Sir. — Half  an  hour  ago  I  received,  and  this  mo- 
ment have  heard  read  for  the  third  or  fourth  time,  the  best 
letter  that  ever  was  written  by  an  Octogenarian,  dated 

June  1st. 

****** 

I  have  not  sprained  my  wrist ;  but  both  my  arms  and 
hands  are  so  overstrained  that  I  cannot  write  a  line. — Poor 
Starke  remembered  nothing  and  could  talk  of  nothing  but 
the  battle  of  Bennington.  *****  is  not  quite  so  reduced. 
I  cannot  mount  my  horse  but  I  can  walk  three  miles  over  a 
rugged  rocky  mountain,  and  have  done  it  within  a  month  ; 
yet  I  feel  when  sitting  in  my  chair  as  if  I  could  not  rise  out 
of  it ;  and  when  risen,  as  if  I  could  not  walk  across  the 
room  ;  my  sight  is  very  dim,  hearing  pretty  good,  memory 
poor  enough. 

I  answer  your  question — is  death  an  evil  ? — It  is  not  an 
evil.     It  is  a  blessing  to  the  individual  and  to  the  world  ; 

*  In  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  when  Gen.  Putnam  commanded  at 
Philadelphia,  and  Sir  Wm.  Howe  at  New-York,  the  general  was  ask- 
ed how  much  he  could  depend  upon  N.  Jersey.  "  She  is  true,"  said 
he,  "  but  what  can  she  do  when  Pennsylvania  has  her  by  the  horns, 
and  New-York  by  the  tail  ?" 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFERSON- 

yel  we  ought  not  to  wish  lor  it  (til  life  becomes  insupporta- 
ble. We  must  wait  the  pleasure  and  convenience  of  the 
'Gn  at  Teai  her.'  Winter  i^  as  terrible  to  me  as  to  you. 
I  am  almos!  reduced  iii  it  to  the  life  of  a  bear  or  a  torpid 
swallow.  1  cannot  re. id,  but  my  delight  is  to  hear  others 
read  ;  and  1  tax  all  my  friends  most  unmercifully  and  tyran- 
nically against  their  consent. 

The  ass  has  kicked  in  vain  ;  all  men  say  the  dull  animal 
has  missed  the  mark. 

This  globe  is  a  theatre  of  war — its  inhabitants  are  all 
heroes.  The  little  eels  in  vinegar  and  the  animalcules  in 
pepper-water,  I  believe  are  quarrelsome.  The  bees  are 
as  warlike  as  the  Romans,  Russians,  Britons  or  Frenchmen. 
Ants,  caterpillars  and  canker-worms,  are  the  only  tribes 
among  whom  I  have  not  seen  battles ;  and  heaven  itself,  if 
we  believe  Hindoos,  Jews,  Christians  and  Mahometans, 
has  not  always  been  at  peace.  We  need  not  trouble  our- 
selves about  these  things,  nor  fret  ourselves  because  of  evil- 
doers ;  but  safely  trust  the  '  Ruler  with  his  skies.'  Nor 
need  we  dread  the  approach  of  dotage  ;  let  it  come,  if  it 
must.  *****,  it  seems,  still  delights  in  his  four  stories ; 
and  Starke  remembered  to  the  last  his  Bennington,  and  ex- 
ulted in  his  glory  :  the  worst  of  the  evil  is,  that  our  friends 
will  suffer  more  by  our  imbecility  than  we  ourselves. 

In  wishing  for  your  health  and  happiness,  I  am  very 
selfish  ;  for  1  hope  for  more  letters  ;  this  is  worth  more 
than  five  hundred  dollars  to  me,  for  it  has  already  given  me, 
and  it  will  continue  to  give  more  pleasure  than  a  thousand. 
Mr.  Jay,  who  is  about  your  age,  I  am  told  experiences 
more  decay  than  you  do.  I  am  your  old  friend. 

JOHN  ADAMS. 

President  Jefferson. 


384  APPENDIX. 

The  following  is  from  the  pen  of  a  distinguished  scholar 
who  visited  President  Adams  in  1822. 

"The  residence  of  the  venerable  patriot  stands  in  a 
beautiful  retired  spot,  shaded  with  trees,  and  every  thing 
within  and  without  the  premises,  wears  an  air  of  neatness, 
comfort  and  genuine  republican  simplicity,  that  charms 
one.  A  modern  fashionable,  about  visiting  those  whom  the 
world  calls  great,  would  expect  to  find  the  vestibules,  the 
drawing  rooms,  and  boudoirs  choked  up  with  fiery  dragons 
and  serpents  as  decorations  to  their  costly  Parisian  furni- 
ture. But  not  so  with  this  veteran  father  of  our  Republic. 
With  him,  extravagance  has  not  superseded  convenience, 
nor  fashion  banished  comfort  and  good  taste  from  his  dwel- 
ling. This  distinguished  benefactor  of  his  country,  whose 
life  was  for  a  time  embittered  by  injustice  and  persecution, 
is  now  87  years  old.  He  may  be  said  u  fairly  to  have  out- 
lived the  prejudices  which  party  animosity  excited  against 
him  ;  in  his  own  time  the  storm  has  passed  by,  and  the  last 
hours  of  his  course  are  unclouded  and  serene."  We  found 
him  in  tolerable  health,  cheerful,  and  in  good  spirits.  In 
conversation  he  was  quick  and  sprightly  ;  and  I  was  pleas- 
ed to  find  that  his  faculties,  apparently,  were  not  benumbed 
by  age.  Upon  every  subject  he  was  perfectly  at  home. 
Indeed  J  never  saw  the  man  of  whom,  notwithstanding  the 
imperceptible  ravages  of  time,  it  might  more  truly  be  said, 
in  the  language  of  Shakspeare — 

"  He  is  a  scholar,  and  a  ripe  and  good  one  ; 

Hear  him  bat  reason  in  divinity, 

And,  all  admiring-,  with  an  inward  wish, 

You  would  suppose  him  the  most  learned  prelate. 

Hear  him  debate  of  Commonwealth  affairs, 

You'd  say  it  hath  been  all-in-all,  his  study. 

List  his  discourse  of  war,  and  you  shall  hear 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFERSON 
.»  fearful  battle  rendered  jroe  in  music. 

Turn  him  to  any  cause  of  policy, 

The  Gordian  Knot  <>f  it  he  >nll  unloose! 

Familiar  as  his  garter." 

(Ii  -  knowledge  of  the  ever- varying  politics  of  the  several 
states,  i-  perfect  up  to  the  present  time ;  and  I  found  thai 
is  thoroughly  acquainted  with  all  the  political 
squabbles  of  New  York,  their  causes  and  consequences, 
with  the  proceedings  of  the  late  convention  in  that  state, 
and  with  every  point  of  the  new  constitution,  as  though  h< 
had  attended  and  written  down  the  journals  and  arguments- 
himself.  I  have  seldom  seen  the  man  who  appeared  so 
perfectly  happy." 

The  following  elegant  remarks  upon  the  two  last  prece 
ding  letters  are  from  the  pen  of  a  distinguished  Americar. 
writer. 

"  The  following  Letters  have  been  obtained  by  solicita 
tion  ;  and  are  sent  to  the  press  by  the  permission  of  their 
venerable  authors.  The  character,  standing,  and  age  of 
the  writers,  the  one  in  his  eightieth,  the  other  in  his  eighty- 
seventh  year,  give  them  peculiar  interest,  and  they  cannot 
fail  to  be  read  with  great  pleasure.  It  is  delightful  to  wit- 
ness this  kind  of  correspondence  between  these  two  distin- 
guished men,  the  asperities  of  party  by  which  they  were 
at  one  time  separated,  worn  down,  and  nothing  remaining 
but  the  interchange  of  sentiments  of  unfeigned  kindnes- 
and  respect.  It  is  charming  to  see  an  old  age  like  this 
retaining,  even  under  its  decays  and  infirmities,  the  intel- 
lectual vigour  unimpaired  ;  and  displaying  amidst  its  snows. 
the  greenness  and  freshness  of  the  summer  of  life.  It  is  an 
enviable  and  privileged  height  to  which  these  great  men 
have  attained  ;  from  which   they  are  permitted  to  look 


ob*  APPENDIX. 

down  upon  an  extensive  and  eminently  happy  country, 
enjoying  the  fruit  of  their  labours  and  sacrifices,  more  than 
realizing  their  boldest  anticipations  ;  and  regarding  them 
with  that  gratitude  and  respect  to  which  their  magnanimity 
and  distinguished  patriotism  so  emphatically  entitle  them. 

The  letter  of  Mr.  Jefferson  was  written  soon  after  an  at- 
tack upon  him  by  the  "  Native  Virginian  ;"  and  when 
there  was  a  strong  expectation  of  a  war  between  Russia 
and  Turkey  ;  this  will  explain  some  allusions  in  them." 

The  following  remarks  of  the  distinguished  Editor  of 
"  The  London  Morning  Chronicle"  must  have  been 
"  wormwood"  to  "  the  miserable  beings  who  fill  the  thrones 
©f  the  Continent."  The  Editor  may  be  asked  whether  he 
considers  the  "  fast  anchor'd  isle"  of  Britain  as  belonging 
to  "  the  Continent  ?"  Whether  in  the  "absence  of  pure 
monarchy"  there,  he  can  help  "  despising  the  idols  he  wor- 
ships ?"  But  he  is  undoubtedly  a  loyal  Englishman  :  and 
although  he  scatters  the  "  paper  bullets  of  the  brain"  he 
can  readily  adopt  the  language  of  the  British  knight  in 
Shakespeare,  "  No  abuse,  Hal  !  no  abuse  ^pon  honor,  Hal  ."' 
;'  The  Lion  ivill  not  touch  the  true  Prince." 

"  America  and  Europe. — What  a  contrast  the  following 
Correspondence  of  the  two  Rival  Presidents  of  the  great- 
est Republic  of  the  world,  reflecting  on  old  age  dedicated 
to  virtue,  temperance  and  philosophy,  presents  to  the 
heartsickening  details  occasionally  disclosed  to  us  of  the 
miserable  beings  who  fill  the  Thrones  of  the  Continent. 
There  is  not,  perhaps,  one  Sovereign  of  the  Continent  who 
in  any  sense  of  the  word  can  be  said  to  honour  nature 
while  many  make  us  almost  ashamed  of  it.  The  curtain 
is  seldom  drawn  aside  without  exhibiting  to  us  beings  worn 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFERSON.  387 

out  with  vicious  indulgence,  diseased  in  mind,  if  not  in 
body,  the  creature  of  caprice  and  insensibility.  On  the 
other  hand,  since  the  foundation  of  tin-  American  Repub- 
lic, the  Chair  lias  never  been  filled  by  a  man,  for  whose 
life  (to  say  the  least)  an)  American  need  o'nee  to  blush 
It  must,  therefore,  be  some  compensation  to  the  Ameri. 
cans  for  the  absence  of  pure  Monarchy,  that  when  they  look 
upwards  their  eyes  are  notalways  met  by  vice  and  meanness 
and  often  idiocy  ;  as  it  is  a  deduction  from  the  advantage 
of  those  who  possess  not  Kings  that  they  cannot  help  de- 
spising the  idols  they  worship." 

The  following  authentic  document  must  extort  from  ev- 
ery reader  the  most  unqualified  admiration.  It  goes  to 
confirm  the  declaration  of  the  energetic  Adams  in  one  of 
the  preceding  letters,  that  in  New  England — "  thousands 
were  labouring  for  several  years  at  the  wheel  before  the 
name  of  Henry  was  heard  beyond  the  limits  of  Virginia." 

The  writer  of  the  preceding  sketches,  acknowledges  the 
rapturous  delight  with  which  he  perused  and  still  peruses 
"  Wirt's  Life  of  Henry."  In  that  master-piece  of  Ameri- 
can Biography,  the  author  is  no  longer  "  The  British  Spy" 
— he  is  the  whole-souled  Virginian  in  Virginia.  Virginia. 
in  his  hands  is  "  all  in  all"  in  the  "  old  thirteen  colonies," 
and  Patrick  Henry  is  all  in  all  in  Virginia.  Like  a  song  of 
enchantment,  his  harmonious  "concord  of  sweet  sounds," 
allures  his  New  England  reader  from  Fanueil  Hall,  where 
the  cradle  of  Independance  was  first  rocked  :  where  Han- 
cock, the  Adamses,  Otis,  &c.  "  raised  such  a  flame  in  Mas- 
sachusetts as  expelled  all  royal  rule  in  America  ;" — yes,  he 
ravi-hes  him  away  from  the  land  of  his  ancestors, — places 
him  in  the  "  House  of  Burgesses  in  Virginia,"  and  makes 
him  forget  the  descendants  of  the  pilgrims  in  the  sonorou- 


388  APPENDIX. 

notrs  of  Henry,  and  the  fascinating  tones  of  Lee,  who,  he 
almost  makes  him  believe—'4  gave  the  first  impulse  to  the 
ball  of  Independence." 

"  In  the  year  1813,  I  paid  a  visit  to  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  his 
retirement  to  Monticello.  During  the  visit,  the  credibility 
of  history  became  a  topic  of  conversation,  and  we  naturally 
adverted  to  that  of  our  own  country.  He  spoke  with  great 
freedom  of  the  heroes  and  patriots  of  our  Revolution,  and 
of  its  gloomy  and  brilliant  periods.  I  will  give  the  sub- 
stance of  a  part  of  his  remarks.  "  No  correct  history  o* 
that  arduous  struggle,  has  yet  been  or  ever  will  be  written. 
The  actors  in  important  and  busy  scenes  are  too  much  ab- 
sorbed in  their  immediate  duty,  to  record  events,  or  the 
motives  and  causes  which  produced  them.  Many  secret 
springs,  concealed  even  from  those  upon  whom  they  ope- 
rate, give  an  impulse  to  measures  which  are  supposed  to  be 
the  result  of  chance  ;  and  an  accidental  occurrence  of  cau- 
ses is  often  attributed  to  the  connected  plan  of  leaders,  who 
are  themselves  as  much  astonished  as  others  at  the  events 
they  witness.  They  who  took  an  active  part  in  these  im- 
portant transactions  can  hardly  recognize  them  as  they  are 
related  in  the  histories  of  our  Revolution.  That  of  Botta, 
an  Italian,  is  the  best.  In  all  of  them  events  are  misrep- 
resented, wrong  motives  are  assigned,  and  justice  is  seldom 
done  to  individuals,  some  having  too  much,  and  some  too 
little  praise.  The  private  correspondence  of  three  or  four 
persons  in  different  official  stations  at  that  time,  would  form 
the  best  history.  1  have  heard  that  Mr.  Adams  is  writing 
something  on  the  subject. — No  one  is  better  qualified  thaa 
he  to  give  to  the  reader  a  correct  impression  of  the  earlier 
part  of  the  contest.  No  history  has  done  him  justice,  for 
no  historian  was  present  to  witness  the  Continental  Con 


ADAMS   \Nl>  JEFFERSON. 

In  1  lis  zeal  for  independence  he  was  ardent;  in 
contriving  expedients  and  originating  measures,  be  was  al« 
-  busj  ;  in  disastrous  times,  when  gloom   sal    on  the 
;  um  ee  of  mosl  of  us,  his  courage  and  fortitude   i  01 
tinued  unabated,  and  his  animated  exhortations   n   tored 
confidence  to  those  who  had  wavered.     H<-  seemed  to  for 
\cv\  thing  but  his  country,  and  the  cause  which  he  had 
espoused. 


"  In  a  journey  to  the  southward,  I  fell  in  company  with 
an  aged  and  highl)  respected  gentleman,  a  native  of  one  of 
the  middle  states,  who  in  our  revolutionary  war  espoused 
the  cause  of  the  King,  and  held  an  important  post  in  the 
royal  army.  He  conversed  with  great  frankness  of  his 
principles  and  motives,  and  appeared  to  have  been  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  events  of  that  period.  "  It  has  been  dis- 
puted,*1 said  I.  "  where  the  Revolution  originated,  in  Ma- 
sachusetts  or  Virginia.  What  was  the  opinion  of  the  Roy- 
alists of  that  period,  and  what  is  yours  ?  "  That  it  origina- 
ted in  Massachusetts,"  was  his  reply,  "  and  if  I  was  to 
state  who,  in  my  opinion,  contributed  most  to  bring  on  the 
tontest,  I  should  name  JOHN  ADAMS,  who  was  after- 
wards your  President.  Concerning  him  1  will  relate  an 
anecdote.  He  came  into  notice  during  the  administration 
of  Governor  Bernard,  and  distinguished  himself  by  his  re- 
solute opposition  to  many  of  his  measures.  The  Attorney 
General,  Sewell,  was  however  his  bosom  friend.  At  that 
time  the  office  of  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  was,  on  many  ac- 
counts, advantageous  to  a  young  man  ;  and  with  (he 
knowledge  of  Adams,  the  Attorne}  General  requested  Ber- 
nard to  appoint  his  friend  to  that  office.  The  Governor 
expressed  his  deiire  to    oblige  Mr.  Sewell,   but  observed, 

51 


33*  APPENDIX, 

'  This  young  man  has  ranked  himself  with  mj  opponent*, 
He  denounces  and  endeavours  to  thwart  my  measures  and 
those  of  the  ministry.  I  could  not  justify  it  to  my  sovereign 
to  bestow  a  favour  on  such  a  person.  And  I  wish  you  to  tell 
him  from  me,  that  so  long  as  he  continues  to  oppose  me  and 
the  ministry,  he  must  expect  no  promotion."  Sewell  con- 
veyed the  message  to  Adams.  "  Then  tell  the  Governor 
from  me,"  replied  the  latter,  "  that  i  will  not   change 

MY  COURSE,  BUT  WILL  RAISE  SUCH  A  FLAME  IN  THE  PRO- 
VINCE AS  SHALL  EXPEL  HIM  FROM  IT,  AND  ALL  ROYAL  RULE 

from  America."  The  truth  of  this  anecdote  has  been  con- 
firmed to  me  by  another  respectable  gentleman,  who  was 
then  a  student  in  the  office  of  Mr.  Sewell." 

The  following  Letter  from  Mr.  Jefferson  to  Lieut.  Gov. 
Barry  of  Kentucky,  evinces  the  unaffected  modesty  of  the 
writer.  While  his  countrymen  are  literally  saturating  him 
with  eulogy,  he  shrinks  from  it,  not  as  Cesar  did  from  a 
crown,  that  he  might  grasp  it  the  stronger,  but  that  he  may 
give  place  to  the  superlative  merits  of  his  compatriots.  His 
whole  life  has  been  a  practical  comment  upon  this  language. 
Witness  his  generous  applause  of  his  immediate  predecessor, 
and  his  potent  rival,  the  ex-President  Adams  !  Witness  his 
invariable  courtesy  to  his  successors  the  ex-President  Ma- 
dison, and  the  present  Executive  Monroe.  And,  notwiths- 
tanding the  baleful  and  blasting  anathemas  of  ascetic  and 
frigid  malice,  witness  his  veneration  for  the  Father  of  the 
Republic — the  departed  Washington. 

The  political  axioms  in  this  little  letter,  so  truly  great, 
ought  to  become  the  text-book  of  American  Statesmen  ;  and 
be  appended  to  Washington's  Farewell  Address.  This 
idea  forces  upon  the  mind  the  melancholy  consideration 
that  Adams,  Jefferson  and  Madison,  await  only  the 


ADAMS  AND  JEFFERSON. 

"Greal    J ,e.lrhe^:,s,,    summons,   to  join   the    IflNBOftalizi -«1 

\\  kSBlNGTOW   in    eternity.      Then    may   we    Bay   with   tli. 

Bard— 

-*•  Whilr  others  hail  the  rising  Sim, 

"•  WV1I  bow  to  those  whose  race  is  run." 

"Monticello,  July  2d,  1822. 

"  Sir — Your  favour  of  the  15th  June  is  received,  and  1 
am  very  thankful  for  the  kindness  of  its  expressions  res- 
pecting myself;  but  it  ascribes  to  me  merit  which  I  do  not 
claim.  1  was  one  only  of  the  band  devoted  to  the  cause  «»t 
Independence,  all  of  whom  exerted  equally  their  best  en- 
deavours for  its  success,  and  have  a  common  right  to  the 
merits  of  its  acquisition.  So  also  in  the  civil  revolution  of 
1801,  very  many  and  very  meritorious  were  the  worthy 
patriots  who  assisted  in  bringing  back  our  government  to  its 
republican  tack.  To  preserve  it  in  that,  will  require  un- 
remitting vigilance.  Whether  the  surrender  of  our  oppo- 
nents, their  reception  into  our  camp,  their  assumption  of  out 
name,  and  apparent  accession  to  our  objects,  may  strength- 
en or  weaken  the  genuine  principles  of  republicanism — may 
be  a  good  or  an  evil,  is  yet  to  be  seen.  I  consider  the  party 
divisions  of  whig  and  tory,  the  most  wholesome  which  can 
exist  in  any  government  5  and  well  worthy  of  being  nour- 
ished to  keep  out  those  of  a  more  dangerous  character. 
We  already  see  the  power,  installed  for  life,  responsible  to 
no  authority,  (for  impeachment  is  not  even  a  scare  crow) 
advancing  with  a  noiseless  and  steady  pace  to  the  great  ob- 
ject of  consolidation  ;  the  foundations  are  already  deeply 
laid,  by  their  decisions,  for  the  annihilation  of  constitution- 
al state  rights,  and  the  removal  of  every  check,  every  coun- 
terpoize to  the  ingulfing  power  of  which  themselves  are  to 
make  a  sovereign  part.     If  ever  this  vast  country  is  brought 


392  APPExNDTX. 

under  a  single  government,  it  will  be  one  of  the  most  ex- 
tensive corruption,  indifferent  and  incapable  of  a  whole- 
some care  over  so  wide  a  spread  of  surface.  This  will  not 
be  borne,  and  \ou  will  have  to  choose  between  reformaiion 
and  revolution.  If  I  know  the  spirit  of  this  country,  the 
one  or  the  other  is  inevitable.  Before  the  canker  is  be- 
come inveterate,  before  its  venom  has  reached  so  much  of 
the  body  politic  as  to  get  beyond  control,  remedy  should 
be  applied.  Let  the  future  appointments  of  Judges  be  for 
4  or  G  years  and  renewable  by  the  President  and  Senate. — 
This  will  bring  their  conduct  at  regular  periods,  under  re- 
visio.  and  probation,  and  may  keep  ihem  in  equipoise  be- 
tween the  general  and  special  governments.  We  have  er- 
red in  this  point  by  copying  England  where  certainly  it  is  a 
good  thing  to  have  the  Judges  independent  of  the  King  ; 
but  we  have  omitted  to  copy  their  caution  also,  which  makes 
a  judge  removeable  on  the  address  of  both  legislative 
houses.  That  there  should  be  public  functionaries  inde- 
pendent of  the  union,  whatever  may  be  their  demerit  is  a 
solecism  in  a  republic  of  the  first  order  of  absurdity  and  in- 
consistence. 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON." 


*^ 


w8 


PIS 


SITV  LlBHA* 


